Tales of the World: Rule of Herons
by Mitsuki Horenake
Summary: Kiryll Nightroad is a young man suffering from amnesia, but blessed to be surrounded by those who willingly defend him from those who want to use his power. However, there's a new problem...and it's not from the Hunters.
1. The Sudden Appearance

**HELLO ONE AND ALL! Mitsuki Horenake on the ropes with you today, and right now I'm about to introduce my Tales of OCs: Kiryll Nightroad and Astrid Rosen! There's a funny story concerning how I got to naming Kiryll, but I'll do that later. For now…ENJOY!**

**Implied Norma x OC…sorta.**

**BTW, this takes place during Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2…with some changes. **_**(I have not played the game, so YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!)**_

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Norma really is bored.

Staying in the ship with no job to do really gets her annoyed, so she ended up walking up to the deck to alleviate her boredom. After a few minutes, she finally was able to open up the elevator and head up to the deck. Once she got on, she saw three familiar figures on deck, watching the sea from their safe position above the ocean surface.

"Kanonno. Stahn." She greeted, turning to the small flying figure over her head. "Paneer."

"You got bored too?" Stahn asked.

"Of course I did." Norma sighed. "Chat didn't have any jobs that seemed interesting today."

"Don't blame her, Norma." Kanonno said. "The guild still is new, so not too many people know about it. The jobs we have now are what will make this guild shine…if we actually do our jobs correctly."

"Thanks for making it sound like it's going to be the end of the world." Norma implied with a sigh.

"Failure is just a part of life, Norma." Paneer stated.

"…A part I wished didn't exist." She grumbled.

"Aw, c'mon Norma. Chin up!" Stahn grinned. "Sooner or later, there's gonna be a good job for us!"

"Yeah, there better be! None of the jobs so far have any good pay!" Norma growled.

"Is_** that**_ what you're complaining about?" Kanonno blinked.

_She reminds me of Rutee… _Stahn sighed. "Eh? What's with the big tree?"

Looking up from where they were, they saw a gigantic tree in the middle of the ocean, standing perfectly on a small island. From where they were, it looked like it was merely an illusion to their eyes. Kanonno was about to say something when the tree began glowing a bright light, and a small beam shot up into the air. Everyone stared at it in wonder.

"Wow…" Paneer stared in awe.

"Wonder what that was all about?" Stahn asked.

"Wait…isn't that the…?"

Something suddenly crashed behind them, making everyone jump. Turning their heads, they saw the body of a young man on the ground. His hair was a dark purple, semi-short, and a piece was dangling right between his eyes and touched his chin. It complimented the thin, purple jacket on his fragile-looking frame, and the white collared button shirt, and the black dress pants with it. A strange box was on his right thigh, but it didn't seem to have any opening to it. In striking contrast, he had small earrings and a necklace made of gold, and they were shaped into that of a cross.

Then again, they weren't thinking of anything like that.

"Holy hell!!!" Stahn remarked. "Did he just fall out of the sky?!"

Norma just screamed really really loudly.

----------

He woke up feeling tired. That's all he knew.

"Are you OK?"

He looked around in the small room that he was in, and saw a girl sitting next to him. Her eyes were green, a striking contrast to her short, bobby, white hair. A red bishop hat was on her head, complimenting the red robe on her. It had yellow lines on it, and the symbols showing green fire. The bottom of the robe was surprisingly short, barely above her knees, and what were left were white stockings and high white boots. Nearby, a staff was leaning on the wall, the top shaped like a moon.

"Where…am I?" He asked.

"You're in my room." She smiled. "You just fell right from the sky. Scared everyone there, really."

"Oh…" He slowly sat up. "I…I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me." She chuckled. "I'm not the one that you angered."

Blinking, he looked up, and saw a girl with short, bobby brown hair staring at him. Once they locked eye contact, she walked out of the room with a _hmph._

"Don't mind Norma." The girl next to him said. "She's just mad that you scared her."

"Oh…I see." He relaxed. "Thanks for bringing me in though."

"No problem." The girl smiled. "My name is Astrid, by the way. Astrid Rosen."

"…Kiryll. Kiryll Nightroad."

"Kiryll…" Astrid chuckled. "That's a cute name."

"Uh…thanks." He blushed.

"Hey! The guy awake?"

Looking up, they saw a young girl walk toward them. She had a really big pirate hat on her head.

"He's awake, Chat. Don't worry." Astrid grinned.

"Good to hear." Chat went to him. "You feeling OK?"

"Yes, I am." He answered.

"You better be. After a hit that hard, I was afraid your brain was going to cave in or something." She grinned. "By the way, are you a fighter?"

"Huh?"

----------

"What is this place?"

"This is our coliseum!" Chat answered. "Where our guild members train! Hope you don't mind the lack of competition, though."

"I'm OK with it." Kiryll answered. "So…am I fighting someone?"

"Yep. Him."

Looking at the ring, he saw a gigantic man with huge muscles and a bald head. A belt was around his waist. Kiryll froze in his place.

"That's Might Kongman. He offered to fight you, so…I hope you don't mind."

"Uh…no, it's OK…" _I hope…_

He walked into the ring with his hope slowly falling. From the side, he saw a few people staying near the side, curious about the newcomer's abilities. From the figures, he could've sworn he saw that Norma girl from earlier.

"You sure you don't need a weapon?" His opponent remarked.

"Huh?" He looked at him. "Oh…no, I'm fine. Thanks for asking, though."

"All right…cause we're beginning!"

Kongman charged to him, an attack Kiryll was quickly able to dodge. The guild members stared in delight and shock. The girls all began squealing.

_OK Kiryll, relax._ He thought. _Just rely on muscle memory and hope he doesn't hit you-_

**BAM!** A punch right to the stomach. He staggered back, only to be shocked at how little pain there was.

"Uh…OK, never mind." He remarked.

"You're still standing?" Kongman grinned. "Not a bad man. Few can stand the might of my fist!"

"Uh…you're welcome…" Kiryll sighed. _I really need a weapon here…_

Almost instantly, he grabbed his necklace, a move that shocked even him, and pulled it off. The chain came off instantly, and when it did happen, the cross took a different shape: that of a large, golden scythe. Norma stared at it in disbelief.

_Whoa…wasn't expecting that, huh?_ Kiryll stared in disbelief.

"Not bad…Kiryll, right?" Kongman laughed. "Don't be scared to use that thing here! No one can truly die here!"

"So…I can go all out then?"

"Of course!"

"Oh…OK…"

Kiryll was shocked at how far "all-out" goes concerning his abilities. He was faster and stronger than even Might Kongman, a fact that shocked the audience members. Once he was in the air, the box on his thigh began glowing, and a card shot out and landed in his hand. He stared at the figure on it, and crushed the card. Almost instantly, a figure shot out from it.

"Angel!" His mouth stated, far from what his mind knew. _"Garu!"_

The wind that erupted from its wings was quick to knock Kongman off his feet. The battle was over. Turning around, he saw Astrid and Chat running toward his direction.

"That was amazing! What was that?" Chat asked.

"Uh…reflex?" He asked.

"Reflex? What? You don't remember what it's called?" Astrid asked.

"…" Kiryll rubbed the back of his head. "I don't…remember anything, actually. Just my name."

"Oh, you poor thing…" Chat sighed. "I feel so sorry for you now…"

"Hey, I got an idea." Astrid grinned. "What if you join the guild? I mean, we go all around the world. There's bound to be a hint or two on who you really are, right?"

"…Yeah…maybe."

**---------------------------------------------------------**

**Feel free to flame if you want. I didn't put too much effort into this. Hence the really bad physical descriptions. And the lack of character most of them have.**

**Oh yeah, about Kiryll's name. It was supposed to be Kiril, but I forgot the spelling one time and wrote it as Kiryll. It looked cool, so I stuck with it. I created him while I was playing Persona 4, so you'll see some references on that game when he's around. But you probably know that already.**

**OK, I'm out! I'll make something better, I swear!**

**Tales of Legendia: Norma**

**Tales of Eternia: Chat**

**Tales of Destiny: Stahn, Kongman**

**Tales of the World: Kanonno, Paneer**


	2. At the White Gate

**Yeah. I wanted to work on a series for Tales of the World 2, so I decided to work on this one. I'll probably not edit the first one **_**(since for some reason I can't find a copy of it on my files)**_**, so I'll just continue on the next chapter.**

**I DO NOT OWN ANYONE IN THE TALES OF SERIES OR PERSONA. Except Kiryll and Astrid.**

**------**

After the battle, Chat began to lead Kiryll around her ship. Despite the size of the ship from the outside, most of it were empty bedrooms. The kitchen wasn't that big, the lobby area was probably even smaller, not to even begin to mention the control area.

"So you drive the ship from here?" He asked, looking around.

"Yep." Chat walked to the wheel and moved it. "My pride and joy. It was the beginning of my guild, and I was even able to get my friends in on it."

"Friends, huh?" Kiryll stared at a few gauges. "You mean the people in the coliseum?"

"Oh, not them. They came much later. We're still a small guild, of course." Chat walked to him. "The first mission we accepted only had four people, you see."

"So…all together, the guild started off with only four people?"

"That's about it in a nutshell." She smiled. "But we're all skilled fighters. We were able to deal with it…since it was a small mission."

"A small mission for a newly created guild. That makes sense." Kiryll smiled as well.

"Hey, you weren't there when we got the job!"

He turned his head to see a redhead man wander into the room, rubbing the back of his head like a bad memory came back into his mind. Chat merely laughed at his face and shook her head.

"I accept jobs! You only accept what you want to take!" She pointed out.

"You never explained the fact that it included a rockshell and crafting!" He sighed. "I suck at crafting, if you haven't actually realized!"

"That's why I had to take over." A voice said from behind him. "Maybe it's because you're an idiot."

The redhead growled to see a young mage walk past him and walk to the wheel. He took it and began to steer with it for a few minutes. A green-haired woman came in afterward, wondering what the tension was all about.

"I'm not an idiot, Keel…" The redhead spat.

"Sure you aren't." He answered.

"What the heck are you talking about, Reid?" The girl asked.

"It's best not to question, Farah. So don't." Chat instructed. "By the way, the dude behind me is the new guy. Kiryll, these are the three people I was talking about."

"The first people in the guild, right?" He nodded toward them. "Not bad. You've been doing this long?"

"Eh, sorta." Reid laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Define long."

"Half a year is not _**long**_, Reid." Keel blurted.

"Would you **work** with me here?!"

"Oh, speaking of work." Chat grabbed Kiryll's arm. "This'll be your first job, right? We have to choose a _**good**_ one!"

And despite any form of protest, Kiryll was dragged all the way down to the furthermost regions of the ship. Everyone watched with a sense of confusion, and then turned to do their own jobs.

**------**

"This is our job deck." Chat turned to him. "This is where jobs come in, and where you accept them!"

Kiryll took a look around the area. It was a little crowded, filled with steam pipes and ladders. From the corner of his eye, he could see Kongman doing some self practice with an imaginary fighter. In fact, the only thing that looked anything like business was a small box that Chat had ran off to go behind.

_I feel like I'm buying lemonade at a kid's store…_ He thought. "So…anything new?"

"Hrm…" She looked at the glowing orb in front of her. "Geez, no updates. That's what you get when you're unknown to the world."

He watched for a few minutes as Chat began sliding request after request that appeared out of the hologram. She looked at him for a few seconds before continuing to flip through the requests.

"Are you into a crafting mission?" She finally asked. "Do you know how to make weapons?"

"Uh…bronze weapons." He stated. "Why? Is that the only job there?"

She skimmed through the set until a strange beeping noise caught their interest, and another request popped up. Chat read it for a few seconds, and before his eyes, her eyes began to light up so brightly that he thought he could reflect light off them.

"Whoa! Hold the phone! This is much more important!" She jumped. "Kiryll Nightroad, you are taking this job!"

"Huh?! What?! What the heck is the job all about, anyway?!"

"Take a read!"

Chat swung the orb in his face, startling him. Kiryll took a deep breath and straightened out the floating orb, taking a deep glance into it. The request began to straighten itself out, and writing was shown.

**------**

**Missing Person: Help Required!**

**The son of the Duke of Baticul has been reported missing more than twenty-four hours ago. The last area that he has been seen is in the Crystal Caverns. This is a request to all free agents and guilds that are available. Reward pending.**

**Red hair, green eyes with white jacket and black pants. Might not be alone.**

**------**

Kiryll looked back at Chat, whose eyes were sparkling brightly with the strange lights from before.

"The Duke of Baticul has to be one of the richest men on this planet!" Chat stated. "If we get recognition in his eyes, this guild's popularity is going to _**soar**__**!**_ And that means we get more money!"

_Is this how it's going to be?_ Kiryll sighed. "OK, I'll do it. Besides, the Crystal Caverns sound familiar to me."

"Sounds good to me." Chat grinned. "But the Crystal Caverns…I heard from travelers that the monsters there are pretty tough. You probably shouldn't go alone. The best mission is always the successful one."

"More people…" Kiryll rubbed his chin. "Three others…at the most."

"Three? Is that it?"

"I think any more is going to intimidate the monsters, if not make them angry. I opt for three."

"Three…OK…if you can handle it."

"Three? Three what?"

They turned their heads to see Stahn pop his head out of the ladder floor. He climbed up from the ladder and walked toward them, his sword dangling loosely at his side.

"Three mercenaries…to join me." Kiryll smiled. "I'm going on a rescue mission."

"Rescue mission?" Stahn turned to the request. "For who…? **HOLY **_**FANDAGO!**_ The son of Duke Fabre?! No way! He's ranked as one of the best swordsman in all of the Kimlascan Kingdom! He can_**not**_ be missing!"

"Apparently, he is. And his father's sent out a request for a rescue." Chat folded her arms. "So, are you in?"

"_**HELL YEAH**_ I'm in this!" He grinned. "The chance for meeting the son of Duke Fabre?! That's one of the biggest things I want to do with my life!"

"So you're good…" Kiryll rubbed his chin. "Get Reid down here. I think that he'll be a great addition."

"I'm calling him right now."

Chat pressed a button underneath the desk. After a few seconds of silence, the floor rumbled, and a cloud of smoke came right next to them, the image of Reid appearing soon after.

"At your service! What's going on?!" He asked.

"You're on a rescue mission." Kiryll grinned.

"_**For the son of Duke Fabre."**_ Stahn added.

"…Who?" Reid blinked.

"YOU DON'T _**KNOW?!?!**__"_ He panicked.

"Relax, Stahn. No need to go crazy. So we need one more." Kiryll turned his head. "How about you, Norma? You in this?"

For a few minutes, everything was silent. Suddenly, someone moved from the shadows, and the image of the small mage popped out of the sides. Everyone wondered how they never noticed her.

"I am so in this." She answered. "But only for the reward."

"No problem. We need someone like you, anyway." Kiryll smiled. "So that's my group. Pilot this ship well, Chat. We're heading straight for the caverns."

"We're heading there right now." She confirmed. "Hurry, Keel! We have to get there before anyone else does!"

**------**

They stood at the entrance of what was supposed to be the Crystal Caverns. Instead of the entrance, it was a large stone wall, a strange carving on the biggest rock.

"Uh…Chat?" Reid looked up. "Are you sure we're at the caverns?"

"_**I'm positive. The radars indicate that this is the location."**_ She responded through the system communication.

"But the only thing here is a rock wall!" Norma complained. "I don't even see a crystal!"

"I say that the symbol is part of this!" Stahn praised. "Since the son of Duke Fabre had been able to get through here, I think the reason why he's missing is because he was able to find out the part of the symbol!"

"_**That makes some sense."**_ Chat confirmed.

"All right, genius." Norma turned to Stahn. "You found out that much, so I think you should find out the rest of it."

"I'm working on it! I'm working on it!" Stahn held his head.

"...It's…it's a sign."

Everyone took a glance to Kiryll, who was walking slowly toward the gigantic rock, his eyes still stuck toward the symbol. Once he was there, he took a touch to the rock, feeling it cool to the touch.

"_The symbol on the doorway is the marking of the herons…"_ He said. _"The Crystal Caverns is but a small portion of their powers. And since the people are willed to gain power, the seal was made in order to save them…"_

"Uh…Kiryll…you're starting to get a little crazy here…" Reid blinked.

"Norma." Kiryll looked up. "The symbol underneath it…what does it look like to you?"

"Me?" She looked up. "Um…it kinda looks like a flame and…hands? It doesn't look that clear…"

"The Magician…and the fact that it's near transparent…" He grinned. "Hey Stahn. I found your answer."

Stahn stared at Kiryll as he backed up. He lifted up his hand, and a tarot card began to make a form over his palm. He crushed the card, and the image of a small snowman with a blue hat.

"Jack Frost! Open the gate!" He ordered. _**"Bufu!"**_

The snowman began to make circles in the air, and icicles began to rain onto the symbol. It began to glow a bright blue until it vanished, and the door melted away as if it was ice. Jack Frost vanished, and Kiryll turned to his gawking companions.

"So then…shall we start?"

**------**

**Yeah, so I'll be updating this. But I don't think people come to this forum as of right now, so I won't update as much.**


	3. Wandering the Crystal Caverns

**Next chapter of the Heron! Woohoo!**

**I DO NOT OWN THE TALES OF SERIES OR PERSONA! And I only use the Personae in the games, so I don't think this counts as a crossover.**

**-------**

The caverns weren't damp like many of them had believed. It was more of a shiny mirror place than a damp cavern. Fortunately, the path in front of them seemed to be a straight-shot, so none of them had to worry about getting lost.

"Man, the roof is high." Reid looked up.

"I think this place used to be underwater." Norma looked around. "Feels cold enough."

The monsters that had attacked them had been hard evidence of that statement as well. After whacking a couple of monsters out of the way, they continued down the hard trail, keeping close to the path. Suddenly, once they reached a clearing, they saw a figure in the middle of it. It had long, brown hair and a green uniform that looked like it was a general's outfit. Kiryll was cautious to take a step, a step that had the figure turn around.

"Who are you?" He asked, a spear appearing in his hand. For some odd reason, he was staring at Stahn. "Are you another Hunter after the crystals here?"

"What?!" Stahn jumped. "What the heck are you talking about?!"

"He's talking about the crystals here." Reid explained.

"Oh, really?! Cause I thought it was the crystal around Kiryll's neck!" Norma complained.

"We're not after the crystals." Kiryll confirmed calmly. "We're trying to find someone."

"A rescue party?" The man looked curious.

"Yes. A young man." Kiryll answered. "The son of Duke Fabre. Does the name Luke mean anything to you?"

"Luke…as of Luke fone Fabre?" The man nodded. "Ah, so you're part of a guild then."

"Yes, that's right." Kiryll nodded. "We have no desire over the crystals here. We're only here to look for him."

"I see…" The spear vanished from his hand. "Well then, I'm sorry for intruding on you like this. These crystals here are crucial to the planet's survival, and with that burden on their shoulders they hold an exceptional amount of power."

"And with every source of power, there're always people trying to go after them." Reid whined. "We get it. It's happened all the time."

"Do you even know what these crystals are?" The man asked.

"…They have a lot of magical power in them!" Norma gawked. "Wow…if someone got a hold of these things-"

"It would be disastrous to us." The man answered. "Yes, there is a source of power in them, but it will only work properly on the one that it has been chosen to be with."

"Chosen…to be with?" Stahn rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh, I see." Kiryll looked around. "So these are Cruxis Crystals."

"What?! No way!" Norma darted her head around. "This is a Cruxis Cave?!"

"A what?" Reid blinked. "What the heck are those?"

"Cruxis! That's the term referred to herons!" Norma turned to Reid. "A branch of the human race with powers that we can't even begin to think about! I've heard that the only thing that keeps them alive are the Cruxis Crystals that bond with them, but…I thought that they would be with their herons."

"That's when you're wrong." The man propped his glasses. "They only bond with herons at birth. These are only Cruxis Crystals who are still waiting for their rightful owners."

"…_Cruxis…Crystals…"_

Kiryll didn't know what came over him, but he found himself looking around at the clear crystals that anchored themselves around the five beings on the cold walls. The cross around his neck began to pulse, and he felt himself beginning to sway closer to them, as they glowed in invitation…

"My name is Jade. Jade Curtiss."

Kiryll snapped back into reality and back at the man. He had nodded in confirmation about his name and was expecting everyone else to do the same. He straightened himself.

"Well, I'm Kiryll Nightroad." He quickly said. "She's Norma Beatty. The blond's Stahn Aileron and the redhead's Reid Hershel."

"Nice to meet you all." Jade nodded. "Well, I would hope that we could continue on this conversation, but you have a duty to fulfill, am I correct? You should go on with that."

Jade nodded once again and quickly left the scene before the four of them could understand what that meant. They all stared at each other for a few seconds before quickly heading on their way.

**------**

"C'mon, Luke. Don't pass out on me!"

"_Guy…just go…get help."_

"No way. You wanted to look for it. I am not leaving you here to die."

The young man looked at his faithful servant as the crystals around him began to increase in intensity. He tried to force himself into a sitting position, but found himself too weak to do so, and fell back. The servant looked around, hoping that his distress signal came through.

_Hang on, Luke. Someone's going to be here. I just know it._

**------**

"Ow, pain! Horrible pain!"

"Stahn!" Kiryll turned to him. "Are you OK?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" He grumbled. "I just stubbed my toe…"

"_Idiot…"_ Norma sighed. "And here I thought you were a formidable warrior!"

"I am!" Stahn stood up. "Why'd you think this came to me?"

He drew his sword and showed it to the others. The blade looked pretty ordinary _(but it was a little big for an ordinary blade),_ but what caught their interest was the hilt. It was red, and there was a strange circular object in the middle of it.

"It came to you because you bought it, or you made it yourself." Reid shrugged. "So what?"

"N-no way!" Norma gawked, quickly approaching the blade. "This is a Swordian! How'd you get your hands on it?!"

"I told you: it came to me." Stahn grinned. "Only a true warrior can get their hands on a Swordian, so I'm showing him that I'm worthy of its power, and one day, I'll join the Swordian Warriors from the Kingdom of Hraesvelgr!"

"_**Yeah, that's such a dream, not in the way that you're going."**_

Kiryll blinked.

"HEY!" Stahn yelled at the Swordian. "I'm not THAT clumsy!"

"Stahn, what are you yelling at?" Reid blinked.

"Heh." Kiryll smiled. "Your sword has a nice sense of humor."

That's when the mood drooped. Everyone turned to Kiryll in surprise, mainly Stahn. He also felt the Swordian in his hand pulse in surprise in well. It made Kiryll blink in startlement.

"Uh…what?" He asked.

"Wait, you're going crazy, too?" Norma asked. "I didn't hear anything."

"You can't." Stahn said. "Only the wielder of Swordians can hear Swordians talk. I didn't know you could hear them talk, Kir. Guess you're a wielder too."

Kiryll shrugged in confusion, and then grabbed his cross necklace, watching it transform into a scythe before his eyes. He moved it around for a few minutes before shaking his head.

"_**Stahn, Swordians are SWORDS, not scythes."**_

"Hey, like YOU had an idea!" Stahn looked up. "I'm just surprised that you can hear Dymnos."

"Dymnos? That's his name?" Kiryll smiled. "Well then, nice to meet you, Dymnos."

"_**Nice to meet you too, then."**_

The Swordian fell silent then, so Stahn quickly sheathed it. Kiryll nodded in confirmation and quickly headed on his way to his destination. The monsters before them were starting to get more and more vicious, and the majority of them were hungry.

"We're getting close." Kiryll concluded.

"Huh?" Reid blinked. "Why say that?"

"Easy. The monsters around this area are all hungry. Which means…" He threw his scythe into his other hand. "We're close to what they want to eat."

"You know…" Reid sighed. "Sometimes, your logic scares me."

**------**

They waded through more than fifty-seven crowds of about three monsters each _(Kiryll apparently took a count)_, and each time they finished off a crowd, their pace became faster. Norma was having the worst time, since she was lacking in the speed department. But just when she was going to collapse from exhaustion, Kiryll stopped. Stahn and Reid almost crashed into each other when he did.

"Geez, man, make up your mind!" Reid whined. "Are we going to find them quickly or not?!"

"Yeah, cuz as I hate to say it, my toe still hurts!" Stahn sighed.

"Quit…complaining. You'll…be fine." Norma said through a strained breath.

"Yeah, Kir." Reid looked up. "Are we moving or not?"

"What'd you mean?" Kiryll looked at them, confusion in his eyes. "I found them already."

"WHAT?! Are you serious?!" Stahn jumped. "Don't keep information like this to yourself! Where the heck is he then?!"

"Actually…" He lifted up his hand. "He's that way."

"Well then, COME ON!" Stahn ran down the hallway. "BIG PROMOTION, HERE WE COME!"

Everyone watched as the blond warrior-to-be ran down the hallway like someone was selling food down there. They looked at each other for a few seconds before running on after him.

**------**

"I see someone!"

The three of them saw Stahn staring at something while hiding behind a giant rock. When they walked closer to him, he was straightening his hair out with his fingers and was polishing his armor.

"What the heck are you doing?" Reid blinked.

"_SHHHHH!"_ Stahn gestured. _"I'm waiting for my OPENING."_

"_Your…what?"_ Kiryll blinked.

"_My epic entrance!"_ Stahn answered. _"You know, when they get attacked and I sweep in to save the day! That way, I'll be seen as the warrior that I am!"_

Before Stahn was able to explain what was going on, Kiryll was already walking toward the both of them. The servant turned up his head to see him walking toward them, and he growled. His friends were quick to come into his aid. Norma had to drag Stahn with him.

"Who are you?" The servant growled.

"We're your rescue team." Kiryll answered bluntly. "We're here to save him. And by the looks of it, we're saving you too."

"Don't lie to me!" The blade was out, at the ready. "You're Hunters, aren't you?! Especially you with the cross!"

"Hunters?!" Norma gawked. "Wait, us?!"

"We're not Hunters!!!" Reid panicked. "Really!"

"Hunters…" Kiryll looked at the redhead on the ground. "I see. So he's a heron then."

"Going all smart on me now?!" The servant growled. "I won't let a bunch of Hunters get a hold of him!"

"Oh boy." Kiryll grabbed his scythe at the ready. "We're gonna have to smack some sense into you."

"We're **FIGHTING**?!" Stahn whined. "Aw man…"

"Relax." Kiryll grinned. "This will be over soon. Just let me take care of him."

"A duel?! Hello?!" Norma screamed. "This is the servant of Luke fone Fabre! He has to be one of the best swordsmen in the freakin' _**WORLD**_ in order to be his servant!"

The servant jumped into the air and slashed down on him, an attack that Kiryll quickly dodged. He whistled in surprise.

"Actually, he fights in the Albert style, a technique known well to House Gardios of the Kimlascan Kingdom." Kiryll nodded. "A section of the continent Niddhog. Tell me, how the heck did the heir to House Gardios become the servant to House Fabre?"

"SHUT UP!"

The servant slashed rapidly at him in rage. Kiryll quickly dodged most of the attacks, feeling the blade cut through his right arm. He felt a strange sensation pore through his body, and when he stopped, he saw something strange dangle over his face.

_Wait…did my hair just change color?_ Kiryll stopped to look at it. _It's silver._

"DON'T you ignore me!" He yelled.

The servant grabbed his blade and started to swing it around his body. Taking a short breath, he charged toward him. Kiryll nodded and lifted his hand, a card levitating over his hand.

"_**Kogetsusen!**_ Crescent Strike!"

"Unicorn! Let's ride!"

The servant's blade quickly made a crescent in the sky, which was stopped when the unicorn was summoned, the blade making perfect contact with the tip of his horn. Kiryll jumped away as the unicorn shook his blade off.

"This is how it ends…" Kiryll lifted up his scythe. _**"Zionga!"**_

A lightning bolt erupted from the sky and struck him down. The servant crumbled down onto the ground without any hesitation. Kiryll's group quickly ran toward him as Kiryll dismissed the unicorn.

"Wow…I have to admit, that was impressive." Reid nodded. "To defeat the servant of House Gardios that easily."

"No, to defeat the _**heir**_ to House Gardios was impressive." Stahn stated.

"By the way, how'd you know that he was the heir?" Norma asked.

"…Actually…I don't know." Kiryll rubbed his hair again. "Just like I didn't even know my own hair color."

"Speaking of which, he's OK, right?" Reid asked.

"Yeah, he's fine." Kiryll nodded. "If not, I have a Persona or two that'll help him."

The servant slowly forced himself to his feet, shaking from the after-effects of the lightning attack. What shocked him was that Luke was slowly pushing himself to his feet as well.

"Guy…" Luke bit his lip.

"Are you OK?" Stahn asked.

"Guy…" Luke slowly moved to his feet. "You're Hunters, aren't you? If it's me you want…take me. Just don't hurt him."

"Luke!" Guy jumped. "Are you crazy?!"

"Not as crazy as you are." A voice said from behind Kiryll.

**------**

**And this ends this chapter! Woohoo! I actually finished a chapter for this! Oh yeah, by the way, yes I got the idea of herons from the Cruxis Crystals from Tales of Symphonia. Don't be surprised. It'll actually blend into the storyline pretty well.**


	4. Persona and the Wild Card

**Last time we checked in, Kiryll had beaten Guy in a duel, and Luke was about to be handed in to the hands of "Hunters", but someone had entered the fray. Who is it?**

**I DO NOT OWN TALES OF OR PERSONA!**

**And if I'm using certain terms that aren't its actual definition, it's part of the story!**

**Oh yeah, by the way, I don't know if this is how everyone reads these days, but add the voice actors into the speaking parts and it'll add some really nice life to the story! Just ignore me if you already do so or think it's weird. For everyone else, imagine your hottest VA male for Kiryll. Personally, I use Dan Green **_**(More Kyoshiro than Atemu)**_**. As for Astrid…I lean toward Veronica Taylor **_**(May from Pokemon…or Haruka, if you so prefer).**_

**------**

Everyone turned their heads to the source of the voice and saw two figures standing there. Kiryll quickly noticed one of them to be Jade from before, but the other figure he didn't know. From what he could concur, it was a young woman with long, light brown hair. She had the outfit of a female mage, and the staff at her side was a clear conclusion of that. She even looked older than the young men in front of them, and the fact that they looked shocked was a clear sign of that.

"Guy, Luke, both of you really need to know when there's help coming." Jade sighed. "I think you two should give some apologies. But…I guess we have other things to do. Tear, do the honors."

Kiryll watched as the woman walked past them and leaned over to Guy. They watched as the wounds on his body quickly sealed themselves up, and the blood vanished from the clothing.

"So that's what the mages of Kimlasca can do!" Reid gawked. "Wow!"

"Actually, we're from the Kingdom of Malkuth." Jade answered. "But we're all from the same continent, so I guess it's only reasonable that you'd mix the both of us up."

"Geez, Guy." The girl looked at him. "These wounds are all over the place. You were reckless in your fighting."

"I wasn't reckless." Guy answered. "I was…going on instinct."

"Oh, was that it?" Kiryll rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't know that was a technique."

"Um…Kir? I think you just offended him." Norma stated.

"Did I?" Kiryll blinked. "Sorry."

"That is the least of our worries." Tear looked at Luke, who was still pushing to his feet. "Luke, what are you doing here at a place like this in the condition that you're in? You should be resting."

"I…can't." He pushed himself up. "I'm…I'm looking for it."

"**It?** You mean you don't have it?" Jade asked.

"…It? _**What**_ it?" Stahn asked.

Kiryll stayed quiet. Suddenly, he walked up to Luke and undid the first button on his jacket _(much to everyone's surprise/dismay/word of choice)_ and saw that there was a strange marking on his chest, showing the symbol of a cross.

"Don't herons have Cruxis Crystals?" He asked. "Where's yours?"

"That's the problem…" He laughed a little. "The ceremony was…supposed to happen…but a Hunter…"

"A Hunter took it?" Jade asked.

Luke didn't hesitate to nod. Tear had to hold back a gasp as Luke shivered, an after-effect, no doubt. Guy ran up to him as he fell to his knees. Jade however, only prepped his glasses.

"This isn't good." He said. "We have to bring him back to your ship."

"I know a shortcut!" Stahn said. "Follow me!"

**------**

Chat was quick to supply the small group with a room. The moment they got on the ship, Luke had fallen unconscious, making the worry level grow even higher. Kiryll and his group stood patiently at the door, waiting for a change in his condition.

"Hey, you guys." Stahn asked. "What 'ceremony' was Luke talking about?"

"It's not actually a ceremony in the sense that you're thinking." Kiryll explained. "It's only the process in which a heron's Cruxis Crystal is fused with the body, stabilizing the mana balance inside their bodies."

"Wait…hold up a sec." Reid lifted up a finger. "If their Cruxis Crystal is so important to them, why don't they fuse with them when they're born?"

"Because they don't need to." Kiryll turned to him. "In all actuality, humans and herons are almost genetically similar. The only difference is that the spirit of a heron creates mana at a faster rate than humans, thus allowing them to have far more adept powers than humans. The ceremony happens around the stage of puberty, when the mana levels in a heron's body becomes too much for it to bear."

"Oh, I get it." Norma snapped her fingers. "So a heron's Cruxis Crystal is like a buffer to them, channeling access mana to normal human levels!"

"Yes." Kiryll nodded. "But each Cruxis Crystal is only tuned into a certain mana frequency, thus it proves the theory that only one Cruxis Crystal can work on one heron in a lifetime."

"Uh, Kiryll?" Stahn rubbed the back of his head. "Do me a favor and explain all of that again with at least half the words."

"And by the way…" Reid asked. "I've been meaning to ask you this for a while, but…you know those card thingies that you use in battle? What exactly are those anyway? I haven't seen them before."

"…That…" He looked up. "I don't know. Just as how I don't even know how I know everything else. I guess it's just my common knowledge."

"It's not common knowledge, Kiryll. Don't try to dismiss it as such."

They all turned their heads to see Jade standing at the doorway, with a nice grin on his face. Of course, his sudden arrival scared the living hell out of most of the people there, but the others ignored that fact for now. He prepped her glasses.

"I've seen those little cards that you've been using up until now, and I have to admit, I never thought a _human_ would be able to use them. Then again, it is possible for them to use it…"

"Use…what?" Norma asked. "It'll be a lot more practical on Kiryll if you just used the actual name, you know!"

"Oh…yes that." Jade nodded. "The power you use is called 'Persona', symbolized by the Tarot cards that you wield in battle."

"Per…sona?" Kiryll blinked.

"Wait a sec." Stahn blinked as well. "So Kiryll uses a perceptive of himself and his ego to summon those beasts?! That's a little easy, if you ask me."

"No…not that type of Persona." Jade shook his head. "I'm talking about actually using his soul in battle. It's his memories and personality, as well as the connections that he has with the people around him, that shape the Persona that he creates into battle."

"That's actually really awesome!" Reid gasped.

"Wait, in that sense, it'll be possible for anyone to have one, right?" Norma asked.

"In such a sense, yes, but it's harder than you might think. Summoning Persona is like ripping your soul out of your body and using its mana for a specific purpose." Jade nodded. "Even in a sense, it's even hard for herons to have access to a Persona. Then again, when it comes to how the mana is held and used in a body, I think it would be safe to say that humans have it harder when it comes to something like that, since they don't have a working Cruxis Crystal to help with the mana balance."

"Aw man…" Stahn whined. "And I was so hyped up, too…"

"Speaking of which, even though it's shocking to see a human with such a power, I'm surprised that you have such an access of this power." Jade looked at him. "Normally, people that have access to this power can only access one form. If I'm not mistaken, you have used your power in multiple forms, am I correct?"

"Form?" Kiryll rubbed his chin. "Well, in 'your' sense, I think my Persona was an Angel and a Unicorn."

"Pretty weak versions of your Persona, and yet the fact that you have access to two of them means that you…" Jade grinned. "Are an unnatural phenomenon called the **Wild Card**."

"Wild…Card?" Norma blinked. "Are we gambling?"

"I don't think it's that form of Wild Card." Stahn answered. "If I remember correctly, the Wild Card, under any form of card game that you so choose, can be anything that you want it to be, normally a suit or number of a higher value."

"Very good…Stahn, was it? I never thought you'd be the type to actually know your card games." Jade laughed. "Yes, it is exactly that. In this sense, Kiryll is the Wild Card, meaning that his Persona can take any shape or form that he so chooses. It's a very powerful talent, although I'm not quite sure how you obtained this power."

"It…might be because I don't _**have **_a solid personality." Kiryll suggested. "Since I have amnesia, the fact that I can't lean toward something means that I can be anything, and that's the possibility that creates a Wild Card."

"That may be true, but even if that is true, it wouldn't explain how you're not passing out more often, since the strain is pretty big for humans to bear…at least, most normal humans." Jade nodded. "But for you to have a talent like this…well, count yourself lucky."

Kiryll blinked and stared at him, shrugging it off like it was nothing.

_Lucky…yeah, like I'm lucky that I don't have a clue on who the heck knows me and what my past holds._ He thought. _Oh well…I guess the world is just…weird…like that._

The door suddenly burst open, and they saw Guy standing there, panic written all over his face. That face made everyone else panic as well. From the corner of his eye, Kiryll saw Norma grab onto Reid's arm.

"There's…there's something wrong with Luke!" He panicked. "He just got a high fever and can't wake up!"

"WHAT?! He's sick?!" Stahn bit his lip.

"It's most likely Chronic Angelus Crystallus Inofficium." Jade said, his face tight with seriousness. "This is bad…we have to find his Cruxis Crystal, soon."

"W-why?" Reid panicked. "W-what happens when we don't find it in time?"

"Easy." Jade turned to Luke, still unconscious in his room. "We don't have to worry about his Cruxis Crystal anymore."

"I-I-I'll go warn Chat! She'll start a world search!" Norma turned.

"Tell her that she has to look for a crystal shaped like a cross, squarish in appearance." Jade informed.

"R-right!"

**------**

Astrid looked around the hallways, surprised that they were oddly empty. She could hear her own thoughts going in her head, which would be impossible in an ordinary situation.

"_That's odd…"_ She muttered. _"I don't remember seeing everyone taking off on a mission. Actually…I thought that Kiryll came back from one."_

She heard footsteps walking toward her, and she turned her head to see Kongman, holding something in his hands, behind his back. She blinked in surprise, especially to see that he was blushing, a new concept with _**the**_ Kongman.

"Hi, Kongman." She bowed to him.

"P-please. Use my real name." He said. "I don't think it's fair for you to resort to the names that everyone else uses."

"So…Bruiser, then?" She asked.

"Yes…I prefer it like that." He nodded. "Well then…y-you see…I-I was done from my mission, so I decided to do some shopping in Meltokio. And…well, I-I decided to buy this for you."

She saw his hands flex in embarrassment, and then she saw the small object in his hands. It was a green cross, shaped and shined so beautifully that it made her mouth gape in shock.

"W-wow! T-this must've been very expensive, Bruiser…" She gawked.

"I-it wasn't, really! The mission paid a lot, so I used most of the money to buy this." He rubbed the back of his head. "I hope you like it."

She picked it up and rolled it around her small hands. It was still warm from being in Bruiser's hands, and in the bright hallway light, it seemed to be shining beautifully. Suddenly, she heard a clatter from behind her, and they both looked up to see a blue-haired archer running through the hallway.

"Chester!" She gawked. "I didn't know you came back from your mission!"

"How're the royal family?" Kongman added.

"NO TIME FOR SMALL TALK!" He suddenly yelled. "Chat called for a major state of emergency! She says that there's a dying heron onboard the ship!"

"WHAT?!" They both gawked.

"Yeah!" He answered. "We have to go find a Cruxis Crystal of some sort! Some form of…cross, I think?"

The both of them looked at the cross in Astrid's hands, and they both quickly understood what it meant. They both turned to Chester, who was already gone, and then took the next person. It was a blond warrior.

"Cless." Kongman grabbed his shoulder. "Tell us where this heron is."

**------**

**Yeah, yeah, you know what's going to happen next. I just wanted to update this chapter.**


	5. The Cruxis Crystal

**Yeah, that's right. Luke is dying of some really long named disease, and Astrid **_**(probably)**_** holds the cure in her hands. And what's the deal with this whole "Persona" thing? Does it have something to do with Kiryll's past? **

**And by the way, does anyone know Stahn's English voice actor from the first Tales of the World game? I got three different names from…the same source, actually, and I don't know who it is. Personally, I think it's Vic Mignogna **_**(might've spelled it wrong)**_**, and personally, I prefer him, but I want to know who it really is, just to be sure.**

**------**

Her footsteps were quick yet quiet. In fact, they were so quiet, it was almost ninja-like, even though she's wearing heeled boots on a marble floor. Perhaps the reason why she couldn't hear her footsteps was because of her breathing. It was as quick as her steps, going at the sound of a rhythm. Behind her, she could hear the sound of Kongman following her, making sure nothing stood in her way. She didn't know how it happened, but before she knew it, she found herself in front of a room with a closed door. The cross in her hand began to throb and glow slowly.

"What's wrong, Astrid?" Kongman asked.

She slowly opened the door and peeked in. Inside, she saw the figure of a slender young woman sitting next to a bed that held what seemed to look like a young man with fiery red hair. Inside her hands, the cross began to glow brighter. She was about to open the door all the way when she saw the man's left arm slowly be covered in a crystal-like cage. The girl jumped in panic.

"The body…!"

"It's crystallizing…" Astrid saw another figure walk into her viewpoint. It was a man with a green outfit. "This isn't good. If we don't find his Cruxis Crystal, his entire body will crystallize."

"_Crystallize?!"_ Kongman gasped. _"You mean…turn into a huge crystal? Holy crap…I never knew herons would have it so rough."_

Astrid couldn't take any more. She lifted up her hand and was about to push on the door when she felt something stop her. Then, a cruel thought entered her mind. _What if she was wrong…?_

Kongman took her decision for her. With the power of one of his fists, he punched the door open. She jumped as the door slammed against the wall, catching the people's attention. The woman had her staff out, ready to counter, which made Astrid panic a little more.

"Sorry about the intrusion." Kongman laughed nervously.

"Are you two Hunters?!" The woman asked.

"N-no, of course not!" Astrid forced out. "U-um…uh…I, uh…"

With the rest of her might, she lifted up her arms and forced the cross into their view. The both of them looked at the green cross in her hands, glowing a quiet bright green. Jade was even quicker to grab it.

"It's his, all right. It's reacting to his mana." He said. "Tear, get ready. Do any of you have any magical artes?"

"I-I do!" Astrid lifted her arms up.

"Good. That makes three of us. We should be able to reverse the crystallization." Jade unbuttoned one of Luke's buttons. "Just hold on a little longer. We're going on with the ceremony."

Tear and Jade raced to get into their positions, leaving Astrid to marvel at the young man. His face was young, his hair as fiery red as her robe. A crystal began to form on his face, which made her panic and race to see if she could do anything. Tear had her hands out, forcing mana onto the marking on his chest, and Astrid quickly copied it. Jade was about to push it in when a large flame began to come out of the marking.

"Whoa!" Kongman jumped. "What's going on?!"

"A Hunter's work, indeed. It looks like they were able to put a shield between Key Crest and Cruxis Crystal." Jade growled, lifting the cross. "We need a bigger mana input."

"I'll get Norma and Mint! That'll help!" Kongman turned.

"We don't have time!" Tear yelled. "If we hesitate even a little, Luke will-"

"I'll just push more mana out!" Astrid said. "I can handle it! Anything to help him!"

"That might work, but even then, we don't know if it's going to be enough." Jade looked at Astrid. "Can you handle attaching a Cruxis Crystal?"

"M-me?!" She jumped. "But…how?"

"Just attach it into the Key Crest like you're attaching puzzle pieces." Jade instructed. "I'll take your place."

Astrid held the cross in her hands, and quickly nodded. She saw Tear and Jade force more mana out of their hands, cueing her to push the Crystal onto the mark. The gigantic flames swarmed onto her hands and she almost jumped away, but then she saw the aura around their hands grow bigger. Nodding slowly to herself, she forced the Crystal in deeper. The mana did help to push the flames down, so Astrid was able to concentrate a little more. Suddenly, the flames began to glow a strange black, and it threw Tear and Jade back. The flames grew bigger than before, and it engulfed Astrid's arms. She screamed in pain.

"Astrid!" Kongman jumped.

"Pull your hands out of there!" Jade called to her. "You'll lose your arms if you don't! We'll think of another way to-"

"This man is going to die if I do!" Astrid bit her lip to hold in the pain. "Besides…I don't need my arms to cast spells."

Tear and Jade stared at her in shock as she continued to fight the growing pain. Quickly, they jumped to continue the mana flow. Soon, another blast threw them back, and this time, it completely engulfed her.

_This strong a separation…!_ Jade bit his lip. _What kind of Hunter did Luke run up against?!_

The scream that came from her caught a lot of attention. Kongman turned around to see the rescue party and Chat run as quickly as they could. Norma almost screamed as well when she saw what was going on.

"OK, Jade! What the hell is going on here?!" Stahn panicked. "And what the heck's happening to Astrid?!"

"It's a Hunter's work. The strongest of spells, forcing a separation between Cruxis Crystal and its Key Crest." Jade stood up. "Only a powerful Hunter could have such an access to that spell…"

"_Luke…"_ Guy bit his lip. "So there's nothing we can do to save her?!"

A small click rang in Kiryll's ears, and he turned to see Astrid's hands be forced in. A strange glow echoed in the room, and finally she launched herself off him, still engulfed in black flames. Norma was quick to extinguish them, and then they watched to see the crystals on Luke's body slowly fade away.

"He's going to be OK." Jade smiled. "The disease is dissipating."

"That's good to hear." Astrid smiled.

"OK, enough about him. Are YOU going to be OK?" Stahn asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to be fine." She answered.

"You're burned all over your body!" Reid panicked. "How're you gonna be alright from that?!"

"I'm a good healer." Astrid dismissed. "I can heal these wounds."

"You don't have to." Jade laughed.

Everyone stared at Jade in confusion before they saw Luke's Cruxis Crystal glow a warm light. Before their eyes, they saw the light heal Astrid's burns, and she stared at them as they vanished into thin air.

"So that's how a Cruxis Crystal works." Kiryll blinked and smiled.

"Only ones as powerful as his." Jade blinked. "Able to reverse the damage that the trap has laid on him."

"Wow…" Norma gawked. "That's epic."

"Now he needs his rest." Jade turned to everyone. "That means that we should leave the room."

Everyone nodded as they turned and left the room. Before Kiryll left, however, he turned to see Guy and Tear sitting nearby, watching him sleep. He rubbed the cross around his neck and walked away.

**------**

"A heron…that sounds so cool!" Stahn stretched. "To be able to fly and use magical powers beyond unreasonable demands…"

"Not to mention how good looking you are!" Norma grinned. "What I would get to have looks like that!"

"That sounds good and all, but with all of the fuss about them, I rather stay human." Kiryll laughed.

"You serious?" A voice rang out. "But being human is so boring!"

Kiryll blinked and turned to see a bubbly pink girl run through the hallways and jump into Stahn's face, causing him to scream and fly backwards. Reid and Norma could only laugh.

"Hey, Arche." He laughed.

"Hey, Reid." She turned back to Stahn. "So, I heard that you saved that noble guy. What's his name?"

"Luke fone Fabre." Kiryll answered, confused. "Why? No one told you?"

Arche turned to him, confused at first for what he said, only to see the light in her eyes just shoot up. Hearts started to fly around her as she lunged in front of him. He darted back in panic.

"I heard about you! You must be Kiryll Nightroad!" She chirped. "And so much mana from you…you really are a formidable warrior!"

"Uh…thanks…" Kiryll rubbed the back of his head. "And what about you? You're not human too, huh?"

"Whoa! You can tell?" Norma gawked. "It took me three months to realize that!"

"Wow…you really are good." Arche gawked.

"And you don't have a Cruxis Crystal, so you must be a half-elf." He continued. "And by the simplicity of how you dress, you came from…Sylvarant, am I correct?"

"Wow…you're awesome."

Kiryll could only see the half-elf in front of him marvel in his awesomeness and beauty. He had to back up and wonder if what he said was even right…or if he was supposed to say it in the first place.

"Oh yeah, speaking of which, we never got our reward from that mission, right?" Norma looked up.

"No…" Kiryll realized. "When do we get it?"

"I think we get it when we check in with Chat." Reid answered. "C'mon, we should go check up on her."

**------**

**So now that Luke's saved, one mission automatically becomes a success. But chances are that the mission was just a walk in the park. There's always more to come!**


	6. The Power of the Wielders

**With more on the rise, Kiryll Nightroad has more on his plate. But with all of the people going around him, who needs security?! Well…he does, actually. So this is for the people who were patiently waiting for this chapter!**

**------**

Despite the fact that they've been here for a while, Stahn and Arche had a hard time trying to figure out where Chat's room was _(hey, this place is confusing! You'll get lost too!)_, running around in thousands of circles. Fortunately, they were able to find the ladder to her location before the sun hit three o' clock. But when they got to her, they saw three figures in front of them. One in which made Stahn cringe.

"Oh god." He bit his lip.

"So…just the three of you, then?" Chat asked.

"Yes, just us three." The younger girl answered. She had short black hair and what looked like to be a nightgown.

"OK then…you know that there's a trial that you have to go through before you're part of the guild." Chat folded her arms.

"We'll handle it with leftover time!" The blond boy chirped.

"Are you sure?" Chat looked interested.

"You don't know us at all, do you?" The other girl grinned. She had long red hair, and Kiryll noticed that there was a bow and quiver on her back.

"I only know you as hopefuls." She answered. "That's all I need to know…at least until you can prove yourself as warriors."

"That we can do." The blond grinned.

"Oh god…" Stahn gawked again. "**Kyle?!**"

The three of them turned toward them, and Kiryll noticed how young they looked, especially the boy. Come to think of it, he thought, they looked oddly similar to each other.

"Hey." Kyle grinned. "Looks like I was right about this place."

"Right about what?" Reid looked confused.

"That your crew?" He looked sad. "I thought you'd get a bigger guy or another girl or something."

"I'm not a pimp, Kyle! This crew works just fine!" Stahn stated.

"Pimp?" Kiryll blinked. "What's a…pimp?"

"You don't know what a pimp is?!" Arche jumped to his location. "Have you ever heard of a player before?"

"Like…for a sports team?" Kiryll said with a straight face.

"Oh my god!" The girl with the red hair stepped forward. "Have you ever heard of a womanizer before?"

"Isn't that a song?" He asked.

"Geez, Stahn, where the heck did you find this guy? Under a rock?" The boy turned back to him.

"Unconscious and falling from the sky onto the deck." He sadly corrected.

"Oh. That explains it." He blinked. "Do you know humans, at least?"

"Yeah, I know humans." Kiryll smiled. "Just…not as enough, I see. And by the way that you and Stahn here are talking to each other, I would say that you are a brother to him?"

"Wow…you're good." He grinned. "Yep. Younger brother of Stahn. I'm Kyle Aileron. Nice to meet you. The girl in the pink dress is Reala, and the other one's Nanalay."

"Nanalay Flech, to be more precise." The redhead walked up to Kiryll. "And who am I having the pleasure to speaking to?"

"Me? Oh, I'm Kiryll. Kiryll Nightroad." He turned to the others. "The redhead there's Reid Hershel, and the girl is Arche."

"Arche?" Reala peeked out. "Hey, by any chance, do you know about a man named Jade?"

"Jade? Oh, as in Jade Curtiss?! Yeah, I know him!" She chirped. "He is my adopted father!"

"Your WHAT?!" Stahn jumped. "You never told us this!"

"You never asked!" Arche grinned. "He is adept in magic, of course!"

"Yeah, but…you're a half-elf." Kiryll blinked. "Does it matter?"

"Of course it matters!" Arche remarked. "What's the use of magic if you can't use it?"

It was only then that he noticed that Kyle and Nanalay started to tense up a little bit. Kiryll stared at it for a few seconds, only to realize that Arche had her smile fade as well. Reid turned toward the newcomers.

"You two must've come from Seinegald." He remarked. "There aren't too many likings toward half-elves there."

"You know us well…" Nanalay folded her arms.

"B-but…Stahn doesn't seem to have any problems with you." Kyle panicked. "So Arche is OK in my book!"

"You sure? With all the rumors going on about half-elves, like the explosions near the kingdom of Tethe'alla and the uprisings of half-elves near Celestia, I'm surprised that half-elves are even allowed on the craft!" Nanalay grumbled.

"OK, the uh…the explosions on Sylvarant…" Stahn rubbed the back of his head. "I think that could be incorporated-"

"Hey, those were NOT my fault!" Arche growled.

"Ah…so the liberation of the secret organization trying to recraft the human factories were your doing…"

Everyone looked up from their positions and saw Jade standing just a few feet away from them, propping his glasses and smiling toward his adopted daughter. She grinned and jumped into his arms.

"Daddy! It's been a while!" She looked up. "How was Malkuth? Emperor Peony start asking about me?"

"Oddly enough, no." He let her go. "In fact, he said that he already knew about your status. Something about financing this ship."

"He's financing this thing?" Kyle blinked. "Huh, so this place must really be good."

"It is good!" Chat argued. Everyone forgot that she was there. "Would you be here if it wasn't?"

"No." Reala answered. "We'd be with that other girl. What was her name? Pa…Pa…Panama?"

"Patty…Patty Fleur…" Chat grumbled under her breath. "I figured as much…"

"Who?" Kiryll blinked.

"You do realize that this isn't the only guild in this world, right?" Reid blinked. "Patty's her greatest rival."

"Not rival…_enemy."_ Chat growled. "Sure, she might've been able to get the sponsorship from the kingdoms of Zaphias and Janna, but I have the Time-Warriors and you, Kiryll! You must be the coolest member that we have!"

"HEY!" Stahn growled. "What about me?!"

"You don't count." Chat laughed.

"I WANT TO COUNT!" He shouted.

"Um…cool?" Kiryll shivered. "Well, that cave was a little chilly…"

"Geez…" Arche shook her head.

**------**

Kiryll quickly realized that the "trial" that Chat had to join the guild was a coliseum battle against random people of choice. The newcomers ended up fighting the group that Arche came on with, which he quickly learned to be Cress Albane, Mint Adenade, and Chester Burklight, all hailing from the country of Sylvarant. As they were fighting, he sat next to a man that seemed oddly questionable, with markings on his face and a huge hat. He looked interested at the white-haired young man.

"You must be Kiryll." He grinned.

"I'm getting popular, aren't I?" Kiryll laughed nervously. "That's a little startling."

"You kidding? It took me about a little more than a month to get the same popularity as you." He shook his head. "Young people these days. Am I really not that appealing to them?"

"That's…weird." Kiryll chuckled.

"Oh…you're probably wondering who I am, aren't you?" The man laughed. "I'm Claus Lester. A summoner."

"Summoner?" Kiryll blinked. "Like…what I can do?"

"Jade told me about that. No, it's nothing like that." Claus laughed. "We're ordinary summoners, not Wielders."

"Wielders?"

"The formal name of beings that have the ability to use their souls for power…the power of Persona." Claus folded his arms. "Persona and Summon Spirits aren't that different, you know. Both of them are huge concentrations of mana, the only difference being that you don't need to make contracts with Persona in order to wield them. You, on the other hand, are a bit of a unique picture."

"How so?"

"It's because you're a Wild Card." Claus nodded. "Normally, the ability to wield a Persona held true to only a unique number of herons, and even then, few of those Personas end up being Summon Spirits, which we summoners are then able to use. It's nothing like what Wielders have because Personas have a 100% loyalty rate to them. When a summoner like me uses that same Persona, we have to obtain their loyalty through trials that they demand out of us, and even then, the loyalty rate is around 50%."

"Wow." Kiryll chuckled. "I never knew that the actual process is that complicated."

"Well, when you're a summoner like me, this is child's stuff." Claus nodded. "In order to be a true summoner, you have to know stuff such as how to go through a Summon Spirit's trials, how to actually summon a spirit, how to keep their trust…"

"All right, I get it." Kiryll laughed. "I think I'll stay as being a Wielder, thank you very much."

"That's probably best. It took me my entire life to be where I am now." Claus folded his arms. "Besides, being a Wielder seems more practical."

"I can see that."

A crash on the wall startled the both of them, and they turned to see Cress in a big indent of the wall. In front of him was Nanalay, and she did not look happy at all.

"You…you…bastard!" She shouted.

"I-I didn't mean to touch that, I swear!" He panicked.

"Oh, that's what they all say!" Nanalay spat. "You won't be able to do that again!"

"Uh…" Chat blinked. "With that being said, I guess Kyle's team wins."

"DAMN STRAIGHT we did!" Nanalay announced to the world.

"Oh…wow." Claus blinked. "She's feisty."

"Yet decent enough." Kiryll chuckled. "She'll be a great addition to this guild."

"Why'd you say that?"

"Check it out."

Kiryll swung his finger around, causing Claus to look around and stare at what he was pointing out, and almost screamed. There were arrows pinned all over the walls, making nice silhouettes of their moving figures.

**------**

**LOL. Never make fun of Nanalay! Oh, you might be wondering when the action's gonna catch back on. It will. Relax.**


	7. Around the Dynasty Ruins

**With newcomers in the guild, Kiryll is starting to feel a bit more like a veteran now. With his status as both a Wielder and a member of a guild, he will find the answers to his own past…**

…**or something like that.**

**------**

"Here's your room." Chat turned to him. "I hope you don't mind the emptiness of it."

"I don't mind." He answered. "I like it. Besides, I like the window next to my bed."

"That won't help when jealous guild members want to crash into your room." Chat folded her arms. "You sure about this location?"

"I can move the bed whenever I need to, right?" Kiryll smiled. "I'll be fine."

With a strange stare, Chat shrugged and left the young man where he was. He waited for her to leave, and then clicked on the little lamp on the table. Closing the curtain on the window, he proceeded to walk toward the mirror hanging a few feet away from the door.

"_Herons…"_ He murmured.

Everything that he learned that day started to flood back into his mind. The fact that they have powers that exceed even the half-elves. People who hunt them for their daily pay. And the fact that their only weakness is their Cruxis Crystal, that is bonded onto their chest. Or in Luke's case, if not bonded, will provide devastating effects. According to what Jade had told them, herons are the only ones who can safely use Persona without endangering their lives.

_If what Jade said was true, then…that would mean that…_

He looked at the door to make sure that no one would come in, and then slowly unbuttoned his collared shirt. Once it was unbuttoned to a certain account, he moved the cross necklace out of the way, and smiled.

It was his Cruxis Crystal, shining a brilliant white light.

**------**

His sleep was peaceful.

Before he got dressed, he made sure that his Cruxis Crystal was there. There it sat, untouched. Smiling, he got his clothes and quickly buttoned his shirt, hiding his life force behind it. Throwing on the necklace, he opened the door, ready to start the day.

"Hey, Kiryll!"

He jumped. He didn't know that Arche knew where he was going to stay. After viewing a grinning Stahn and Kyle, he started to wonder just who the heck revealed his location.

"Uh…hi." He rubbed the back of his head, holding back his shock. "What's up?"

"We wanted to see what mission you were gonna get!" Kyle grinned. "Nanalay and Reala already left on a mission, so I was stuck with you guys."

"Stuck?! You should be grateful!" Stahn bonked the top of his head. "Where the heck would you be without your big brother watching over you?"

"Um…looking for you on a guild ship?"

"Ooh, got you there." Arche laughed.

Stahn rolled his eyes as Kiryll shook his head. Leave it to him to find out that little tidbit. He turned and headed toward the mission room, hearing the others dashing as quickly as they could to catch up.

**------**

"Hello, you guys." Chat grinned. "You're ready for a mission now?"

"Anything new?" Kiryll leaned on the desk.

"Hm…well, not really." Chat skimmed the missions. "Take a look."

Kiryll stepped forward and skimmed the mission board as the other three waited patiently a few feet away. After a few skims, he saw something that caught his eye. The pause tempted Kyle and Arche to sneak up and look.

"Huh…" Kyle leaned in. "Interesting."

"What is it?" Stahn asked.

"It looks like a scanning mission. A monster outburst just off the edges of the Dynasty Ruins in Sylvarant." Kiryll blinked.

"Sylvarant…" Arche looked up. "Hey, I came from Sylvarant! I know where this place is!"

"Really? What is it?" Kyle blinked.

"It's a temple that the Sylvarant kingdom built over 400 years ago!" Arche stated. "Supposedly, it was built because it was where the bloodline started. It used to be a house before it got pillaged by some thieves. At least, that's what I heard."

"Weird rumors." Stahn rubbed the back of his head. "Couldn't they just say something easier, like they wanted to worship some god or entity?"

"It can't always be that easy, Stahn." Kiryll turned to him. "It's 400 years ago. Reasons were never really simple."

"True…" Stahn chuckled. "It's always the case."

"Don't complain." Kyle grinned. "This mission sounds easy, monster extermination!"

"Don't sound too cocky. It's an old place." Stahn tried to sound smart. "Those monsters will be very hard to handle."

"We'll be fine." Kiryll smiled, unconsciously rubbing his Cruxis Crystal hiding in his shirt. "Arche, do you know where the ruins are?"

"No prob!" She flipped her hand into the air. "Leave it to me!"

**------**

"THIS is the Dynasty Ruins?" Stahn darted his head around.

"Looks more like an underground evil lair." Kyle looked around. "With the dripping water and everything."

"That's the beauty of this place!" Arche twirled around. "Look at the dim blue lights! The architecture! They don't make buildings like this before!"

Kiryll ignored them for a while as he wandered around the small area that seemed peaceful at the moment. He had to agree with Arche: the place really did look beautiful. It looked like an evil lair, like what Kyle said, but it had more of a presence mirroring Atlantis. There were streams of water coming through doors, and the floor seemed to have glowing panels. For some reason, his Cruxis Crystal began to glow underneath his shirt, which he had to quickly hide. Especially when Arche tackled him.

"You think this place is beautiful, right?" She chirped.

"Uh…yeah, it really is." He looked up. "Looks like a palace to me."

"OK, screw what you JUST said." Stahn laughed. "Who in their right minds would want a palace _**UNDERGROUND?"**_

"You'd be surprised." Arche jumped off. "This is actually one of the palaces the Sylvarant Dynasty lived in."

"Who the heck wanted to live in _**this?!**_ It's freakin' cold!" Kyle shivered.

"Mole people?" Kiryll joked.

Arche smacked them both upside the head, much to Stahn's delight. Suddenly, they heard a roar from inside the ruins. Turning around, they saw three lightbulb-looking creatures running toward them.

"The heck are those?!" Kyle jumped back.

"Sea Monks!" Arche jumped on her broom. "They aren't that hard! Kiryll, you can handle this!"

He didn't have to answer. Kyle watched in awe as he lifted his hand and a spiraling tarot card appeared out of nowhere. He shattered it, and a pixie with spiked hair flew from his body.

"High Pixie! _**Mazio!"**_

With a wave of her hands, lightning roared out nowhere, and thundered onto the Sea Monks. They crumbled without another word. The High Pixie faded back into Kiryll, who barely noticed that she was fading into his Cruxis Crystal.

_So…that's where they go._

"That was totally awesome, man!" Kyle jumped to him. "What the heck WAS that?! I never saw anything like that before!"

"It's my Persona." He answered with a smile. "I really don't know much about it either, though."

"But that was SO AWESOME!" Kyle gawked. "What's the secret?!"

"He doesn't have one." Stahn laughed. "Apparently, only herons can get them."

"Huh? But Kiryll's human."

Kiryll didn't know if he wanted to correct him or not. But it was already too later. Arche had ran deeper into the caverns, and she was waving for the others to join her.

**------**

Each pathway led deeper into the Dynasty Ruins. It was shocking how set up and beautiful it was, despite the fact that it had been abandoned for hundreds of years. Of course, no one was paying attention, attuned only toward their goal.

"These routes are LONG." Kyle sighed. "How many monsters did we slash down already?"

"1,293." Arche sighed. "Not counting the little incident you had with the Sea Hogs."

"Oh shut up already!" Stahn grumbled. "I didn't mean that! Besides, Kiryll saved my hide, right?"

"Like he did the other 1,292 times." Kyle laughed.

"…shut up."

"Speaking of which…" Arche turned to her companion. "Kiryll, are you alright?"

"Huh?" He looked up.

"You look a little pale." Arche gestured to his face. "You need rest?"

"N-no. I'm fine." He smiled. "Just a little dizzy, but I'm OK."

"Is it because we stepped in that whirlpool?" Kyle shook his head. "Again, all Stahn's fault."

"Oh shut up!"

As the two brothers began arguing, Kiryll sulked against the wall and stared at the cold ceiling. He did feel tired, and his body had started to ache a little. At first, he thought it was the stress from the fighting, nothing a couple of potions couldn't solve. But he drank at least ten potions a half-hour ago, and he still felt like he was a wreak. In fact, he felt much worse. He closed his eyes and remembered what Jade had said about his power.

"_**Summoning Persona is like ripping your soul out of your body and using its mana for a specific purpose."**_

_Did Jade mean exactly that? Am I…?_

"YO! KIR!" Stahn called. "We're moving! You OK to walk?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine! I'm coming."

**------**

The walk through the caverns was getting harder on Kiryll. He depended more on his scythe than anything else, and tried to use the magic spells that Arche had been using. It had been helping with the pain, but it was steadily getting worse. After a few feet, they reached an odd clearing, where they saw a young woman and a young man talking in front of glowing Cruxis Crystals, two monsters on the ground next to them. Kiryll felt his own crystal throb. They both turned around, and Arche scoffed.

"Oh great. It just HAD to be you, huh?" She growled.

"Well, if it isn't Archie!" The girl laughed. "Fallen into some low hands, working in a guild."

"Well, whatever low I'M in, it's sure as hell higher than you!"

"Don't try to argue your way out of THIS, Archie." The girl grinned. "I have a power that spans even the both of us. You can't harm me now!"

"Oh great. Catfight." Stahn sighed. "Just what we needed."

"You!" The young man growled. "Don't you DARE insult the beautiful Alice!"

"The WHO?" Arche laughed. "Oh please. The only thing cute about her is the barrette on her head, which is totally FAKE."

"You really don't know who you're dealing with." The girl smiled.

Kiryll stared at the two monsters beside the strange duo. He quickly identified them to be a Nixie and a Fafnu, two creatures that weren't normally living in a cave such as this. They both looked heavily wounded as well. One of the Cruxis Crystals behind the duo pulsed, and the two monsters rose up and charged at them. The young man grinned as he pulled out a huge broadsword and slashed them toward Kyle. Stahn pulled him out of the way as they crashed into the wall.

"Who the hell ARE these guys?!" He asked.

"They're Alice and Decus, sadists in the Vanguard." Arche folded her arms. "The whole group wants to overthrow the kingdom of Tethe'alla and revive the Kingdom of Sylvarant."

"Well, Arche, think about it! Our land is in constant turmoil! That's all we can do, right?" Alice grinned.

"Wait…how'd you know her?" Kyle blinked.

"It's…a bond between the species." She answered hesitantly. "She's a half-elf…and a Cruxis Hunter."

Kiryll darted his head toward the both of them, and noticed that they had smug grins on their faces, looking directly at the white-haired young man. He grimaced. They knew his secret.

"Cruxis Hunters…it explains the Cruxis Crystals…" He said. "But I thought only their chosen herons can use them."

"You don't know us at all, do you?" Decus laughed. "But then again…I guess you can say that you're next on the list."

"You're hunting Kiryll??!!" Stahn rubbed the back of his head. "W-won't that mean…?"

"And such power." Alice laughed. "Your Cruxis Crystal will be perfect for our goals."

With a snap of her fingers and a wave of her baton, three large Tortoises came out of nowhere and fell behind Alice. She jumped onto the back of one of them and grinned, while Kiryll bit his lip.

_She's a Contractor…dammit. _He turned to the others, who nodded at him. _OK…let's do this._

**------**

**You'll learn about Contractors at the next chapter. Don't worry too much about it. And wow, it's an update!**


	8. On The Hunt

**Alice and Decus are on the hunt, and Kiryll is on their list. Can the others save him? Can he even save himself?**

**------**

Their hands were up, ready to go on the hunt, and Kiryll knew that they were after him. He gripped his necklace and ripped the scythe out of its form, which began to glow brightly in the light. Alice could only whistle from the reaction.

"Interesting. He's one of THOSE herons." She grinned. "Decus!"

"As you wish, Alice!"

He charged toward Kiryll, and proceeded to do a one-on-one duel with him. Decus was oddly slow to what Kiryll thought he would be, but he didn't let his guard down. He began to question why no one else was helping him, but then he turned to see that the others were having a hard time on Alice and her Tortoises. He turned back to Decus.

"Guess it's just you and me then, huh?" He grinned.

"Wouldn't have it any other way…"

They both jumped apart. Kiryll swirled his hands in the air, and a glyph appeared in front of him. He swung his hands around, and saw a huge lance appear out of light. He swung his scythe, and the lance fell upon Decus, who easily dodged.

"A Holy Lance spell…high tier as well…you're not bad for a heron." Decus grinned. "Wish I could do spells. All Sylvaranti and Tethe'allans are cursed without spell capabilities."

"Isn't that just sad." Kiryll spat. "You're gonna have to handle a lot more than that if you want to live today!"

"Oh, but I'm not the one you should be worried about." Decus laughed.

**------**

"Waaaaaaaaah! Evil tortoises! Evil, evil, EVIL!" Arche quickly flew away.

"What's wrong? Can't handle my monsters? You out of all people should know the capabilities of a Contractor!" Alice laughed. "You're a joke. You make all half-elves ashamed of themselves."

"Contractors?" Kyle dodged a tortoise attack. "What the heck are those?"

"Well…" Stahn flipped one over. "They're…ugh, what were they again??????"

"They're people who can make pacts with monsters and demons, idiot!" Arche flew around. "But unlike Miss PRISSY-PANTS here, most Contractors have a limit to what they want their monsters to do!"

"Monsters are just monsters, Arche." Alice grinned. "They do what you want them to do, and that is the bottom line!"

"That's not what they think."

Arche growled those words, and everyone saw as the Nixie and the Fafnu struggled to get on their feet, even though they were bleeding heavily. Knowing what he had to do, Kiryll threw Decus off his feet and threw his hands in the air, a healing spell _(whose name had escaped him at the moment)_ healed the majority of their wounds. Arche levitated right over them as they got their legs on the ground.

"You see, Alice? They have something that _**your**_ monsters lack." She growled.

"What's that? Faith? Courage? C'mon, they can barely stand!"

"They have willpower." Arche looked at the Nixie and Fafnu. "They started out just like any other monster would: free and uncaring. Their Contractor obviously raised them with love and compassion. Whoever cared for them gave them the reason to fight on and live. Haven't you remembered that, Alice? You're a half-elf! You're supposed to know the heart of all the beings on this planet!"

"Yeah, woman!" Kyle agreed. "Don't all half-elves care for the environment?!"

"Don't…you…DARE…insult her again!"

The air around them began to tighten, and then they felt a blade go through their bodies. At the speed of light, Decus was slashing rapidly through their systems, without them ever having a chance to react. Kiryll heard a small crack, and instant pain shot through his body as the cry of Alice echoed through his ears. When they all landed, Alice smacked Decus behind the head.

"You doof! Don't damage the merchandise!"

"Sorry, Alice. I got…carried away."

Everyone wondered what they meant, until the sharp pain made Kiryll cry out loud. Everyone turned and ran toward the silver-haired heron, only to notice that Decus's attack had ripped open his collar, revealing a cracked Cruxis Crystal. Stahn touched it, but Kiryll winced and recoiled back.

"Freakin' hell, man." Kyle stood. "That attack…what the heck was that?"

"A Mystic Arte." Kiryll pushed himself to his feet. "Dammit…never knew that it'd hurt this much…"

"Stay back for now." Stahn lifted his blade. "Do the casting with Arche. Me and Kyle can handle it."

"But-"

"No buts, Kir. If there's anything that I can retain about herons, is that they can fly and that they're toast once their Cruxis Crystals are destroyed." He lifted his blade. "Besides, in the end, you're gonna save my hide, right?"

"…" He grinned. "As always."

Stahn looked at his little brother, who nodded in agreement, and then ran off into the fight. The tortoises jumped into the fray to block their attack, which Kyle had predicted. He pushed Stahn up into the air and pointed at them with his blade.

"_**Azure Edge!"**_

Wind projectiles shot out of the tip of the blade, hitting all of them at once. Alice was pushed off one of them, sending Decus into a tailspin of revenge, heading quickly toward Kyle. Stahn glared at him as he readied his blade.

"Don't you dare touch my brother! _**Demon Fang!"**_

Kiryll couldn't help but notice the sheer fierceness of Stahn's attacks. He couldn't even believe that they were the same person. As the brothers bombarded him with attacks, Arche turned her attention toward Alice and her monsters.

"I hope you can forgive me…_**Tractor Beam!"**_

Alice freaked as she and her tortoises were levitated into the air _(much to Decus's shock)_, and then she plummeted them into the ground. The crater sent Alice flying into the air, forcing Decus to retreat and obtain her. Kiryll glared toward the both of them, shining white wings erupting from his back.

"You're not going to be forgiven for this…you know."

His Cruxis Crystal began to glow, and he dashed quickly toward them, slashing rapidly as he easily glided past them. Each slash echoed a new element: thunder, water, fire, wind, light, dark…no pattern at all, nothing to follow. He only felt his rage flow through his body. Soon, he was straight in the air.

"_**Altair's Mark!"**_

He crashed his scythe into the ground, and waves of light crashed onto Alice and Decus, tossing them into whatever direction they were facing. Kiryll pulled the scythe out as the others watched their enemies crash onto the ground. They both got up and began to scurry out.

"You didn't even see the TRUE might of us, heron!" Alice growled. "You just got us on a bad day!"

They both ran out of the room, leaving the four of them staring at each other. As Arche went to care for the Nixie and Fafnu, Kiryll turned his head and noticed that, despite the reputation of being Cruxis Hunters, they forgot to bring the Crystals with them. He walked over to them and picked them up, feeling a heartbeat through each of them.

"Hey, Kiryll. Nice work back there." Stahn laughed. "Was that a Mystic Arte?"

"I…think so." He answered. "I really don't know. I was just going on instinct."

"Instinct." Kyle laughed. "Geez, remind me never to make YOU angry."

They both laughed, until they heard Arche scream. Looking toward her, they saw her spiral out of the way as the tortoises started to charge rapidly out of control and started to run right toward them. Kiryll reached out to counter, but his Cruxis Crystal throbbed, and he fell to his knees.

"Kiryll…!" Kyle gasped.

"It's his Cruxis Crystal…" Stahn darted his head up. "Dammit! OK, we're gonna have to-"

A clap echoed the air, stopping everyone in their tracks. The tortoises stopped as a circle appeared around them. The Fafnu flew past Arche and landed right next to Kiryll, staring at the tribe. They were confused until they saw a young man walk past them. His hair was a bright yellow, contrasting the blue that he was wearing on his body. The scarf passed Stahn's neck, causing him to shiver.

"Who the…?"

The young man lifted his hand, and he started to glow as well. His eyes opened, and soon the tortoises quieted. They walked toward the man, who slowly started to pet the head of the leader. They began to glow, and then the whole tribe vanished.

"Holy-!" Kyle jumped. "Where the heck did they go?!"

"They went to the Katz Guild." The young man answered. "They're trustful with all that I send there."

"You…" Arche levitated down. "So…you're the Contractor."

"Are you…guild members?" He bowed. "V-very nice to meet you."

"Nice…to meet you too?" Stahn blinked.

The young man laughed nervously before falling to his knees. Kyle jumped to his aid, only to realize that the man's scarf had loosened, revealing an empty key crest on his chest. He turned to Kiryll, who knew what to do. He stood up and handed him his Cruxis Crystal, which he gladly accepted and slid into place. Unlike what happened to Luke, it ended up with only a small click.

"Wow." Kyle blinked. "Here I thought that Alice would bother to put a block spell on it or something."

"She's not strong enough to cast that spell." Kiryll looked at him. "She obviously can't handle a heron's powers if she can't seal them. She must be a new Cruxis Hunter then."

"Enough about them." Arche walked to the man. "Are you OK?"

"My Cruxis Crystal hasn't been separated long, so I should be fine." He looked up. "Thank you."

"No thanks needed. It's our job." She pulled him up. "I'm Arche Klein, but I prefer Curtiss."

"Emil. Emil Castigner."

Kiryll stood up and watched as the two monsters that were left swarmed to his side. He was surprised that Arche accurately described him to a T: he really did show deep care and compassion toward his non-human comrades.

"Oh! Speaking of which." He walked toward Emil. "Where're your companions?"

"Companions…?" Kyle blinked in confusion.

"I lost track of them after Alice and Decus attacked me." Emil answered. "Hopefully, they're still OK."

"Wait…what? What? _**What?!**_" Stahn rubbed the back of his head. "Wait, since when did you know that he had a group with him?"

"Alice had two Cruxis Crystals with her." He lifted up the other one. "And this one is still warm. This had been extracted recently."

"Is this common knowledge for herons, or is Kiryll really that freakishly smart?"

"This is common knowledge, Stahn." Emil nodded.

"Oh…thank GOD." Stahn shook his head. "Well, in any case, we better figure out whose crystal that is. Chances are, they're going crazy without it."

**------**

The caverns were starting to end. After a few feet, they found themselves at a door that was taller than the entire cavern itself _(if that was possible)_. A marking was on it, extremely small compared to the size of the door.

"Whoa. Mysterious marking on the cold, stone door." Stahn looked up at Kiryll. "This looks more to your expertise, Kir."

"I'll take a look."

Stahn moved out of the way as Kiryll walked toward the door to examine it, the others staring and wondering what he was doing. The mark looked as big as a card, holding the image of a faintly faded figure blowing a trumpet into the ocean.

"Judgment." He backed up. "I'm gonna open the door."

"Wait, you're using a Persona now?!" Arche grabbed his shoulders. "Hold on a second! Remember what Daddy told you? You're ripping your soul out too much! You could die! Look, we probably don't even know what's behind that door. Most of them probably can't even access Persona, so c'mon. We have to try another door."

"Look, this is the only pathway they could choose. It's a straight path." Kiryll motioned the path. "We really don't have much of a choice."

"Are you forgetting someone here?"

Everyone paused for a minute, before seeing Emil pass them and look at the mark on the door. He touched it a few times in sheer silence, driving Stahn crazy for a few seconds before turning back toward the group.

"I don't know about you, but I have a Persona too, you know." He backed up. "And fortunately for you, I haven't been using it in a while."

A card shot out of his palm, and he crushed it. From his palm, a strange human figure with a dog's head and scales took form. Wearing strange robes that no one could identify, he hovered slightly over his master and faced the door.

"This is Anubis, the overseer of the dead from a faraway land. He judges the dead to their final resting place…a true embodiment of Judgment." Emil lifted his arm. "Anubis! Open this door!"

Anubis lifted up his scales toward the door. At first, nothing happened. Suddenly, the mark on the door vanished, and the door literally snapped in half. It slid apart and sank back into the walls. Anubis returned to his card, and Emil turned toward the group.

"Problem solved."

"Geez…I can't tell if I'm annoyed by herons or just freakin' jealous." Kyle rubbed the back of his head.

"Go on a whim. Say you're annoyed." His brother concluded.

**------**

After the door, the path was a straight hallway. There were no monsters to guard their pathway, exactly what Kiryll had predicted. After a few minutes of walking around a small hallway, they encountered a room, with a huge gaping hole in the walls, revealing the outside world, and three statues in the middle.

"Well…" Stahn shook his head. "We could've found the hole and saved ourselves the trouble of opening the door."

"Whoa…check this out!" Arche gawked. "These statues are _**perfect!"**_

"That's fascinating!" Kyle went to one of them. "Whoever carved this really must've driven themselves near insanity. The details are really thorough. It's like they're real…"

"They are real…" Emil went to one of them. "But…I don't get it. Alice and Decus never had access to a Petrify spell before."

"Must've been the Vanguard then. We've been handling them doing illegal smugglings on Exspheres for a while." Stahn sighed. "That, if I'm not mistaken, was my first mission."

"Does anyone have access to a Purify spell at all?" Arche turned around. "Or have a spare Panacea around?"

"I don't have any." Kyle said.

"Nothing on me." Stahn dug into his pockets. "Don't you have a Purify spell?"

"That's Advanced Tier, Stahn. I'm barely getting into Intermediate…"

Kiryll dug deep into his memory, yet for some odd reason, he couldn't find the words to use for a Purify or even a Recover spell. He only had one other option to use. But could he do it? Taking a deep breath, he shot his arm out, and a card flashed from his wrist. Shattering it, a young woman with black skin and a priestess robe appeared over his head. Everyone turned their heads in shock.

"_**Kikuri-Hime! Samarecarm!"**_

"Kiryll, are you crazy? A Revive spell won't work-"

Despite her better words, the stone around the victims started to melt. The pain that subsided in Kiryll's body returned with a vengeance, and he began to feel as if he was burning from the inside out. The victims were freed, and Kiryll collapsed as the priestess vanished.

"Kiryll!" Stahn jumped to his aid. "Did he knock himself out?"

"No…he's been using too much of his Persona." Emil looked at him. "This is the only way the body could recover after his soul's been ripped out."

"So he's in a coma?!" Kyle rubbed the back of his head. "Great, just freakin' great. What else could happen today?!"

Barely had those words left his mouth when spears poked into their general direction. Everyone gathered around Kiryll's unconscious body, weapons out and ready to attack. Two of the victims, a young man with spiky brown hair and a girl with long, blond hair, stood close to Emil.

"Those robes…" The man turned his head. "What's the Royal Guard of Zaphias Kingdom doing here?!"

"That is something that pertains only to us."

A young man with blond hair walked out of the mass of soldiers, his young face clearly shown, unlike the others hiding under their helmets. His sword was out, which caused them to tighten their grip, but then he turned to Kiryll.

"This man is wanted by the order of the king himself. If you give him up, then we'll let you go without any hesitation."

"Could you at least tell us what he did?!" Kyle yelled.

"…Do you resist arrest?"

"If you're not telling us why he's going under arrest, then yeah, we are!"

"Fine. Take them all in."

**------**

**God bless the holidays. As you can clearly see, updates are coming in fast!**


	9. The Sacred City of Zaphias

**So Kiryll is wanted by the kingdom of Zaphias. But what is he wanted for? Is he truly an evil man, or was he framed? Who knows?**

**And WOW. I never knew Kiryll had fangirls! I'm honored…well, he's honored! I guess…I mean, he did go into hiding after the last couple of reviews, so I guess he's looking for them?**

**------**

The only thing he was aware of was that he was in a jail cell.

Opening his eyes, he found himself in chains, and his necklace was gone, robbing him of the only weapon he could safely use. Shaking with a strange sense of fear _(or was it excitement?)_, he reached out toward his chest, relieved to feel his Cruxis Crystal still in place. He sighed with relief, only to realize that he was bleeding from his arms and legs.

"You OK over there?"

He turned his head, realizing that the cage next to him held the four people that he saved earlier. He couldn't see them, but he knew that the man who talked to him was definitely not Emil. He concluded that it was the one with spiky hair.

"I'm alive." He answered. "What about you?"

"We'll manage." The boy answered. "My name's Lloyd Irving. What's yours?"

"Kiryll Nightroad." He looked around. "Have you seen three people that were with me? Two of them were blond, one was a female with pink hair?"

"The Guard took them in for interrogation." A female voice echoed out. She sounded innocent and confused. "They think that they played a part in whatever crime you committed."

"Crime?" Kiryll blinked. "What crime?"

"I was willing to bet that you'd be the one to tell us. I don't like prison cells, you know." Another female voice echoed out. This time, she sounded a little mad at what was going on.

"Marta, please…" That was definitely Emil's.

"No, it's OK. I probably did commit some form of crime." Kiryll laughed. "Wish I knew what it was."

"What?!" The girl named Marta panicked. "Please don't tell me that you had too many crimes that you can't remember them all!!"

"Marta..." Emil panicked again.

"She might be right." Kiryll pointed out. "Wish I had the pleasure of remembering at least one."

"What do you mean?" Lloyd asked.

"Hm…" Kiryll shook his head. "Let's just say that it's a gift from the heavens that I can remember my own name."

"Oh…" The girl named Marta had a wavering voice. He could imagine her falling silent for a few minutes. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Don't apologize. For all I know, you could be right about everything." He sighed. "I hope they're going to be alright."

"Their commander seems to be kind toward them. It's you he's gunning for." Lloyd stated.

"Really…" He sighed. "Thank god. I wouldn't forgive myself if they get hurt for something I did."

The voices went silent, leading Kiryll to believe that they were probably thinking about what he had just said. After a few quiet seconds, the door swung open, revealing two armor-clad soldiers entering the room. Without even looking at him, they stabbed him in his right arm, causing him to wince.

"Aw, look at this. The little birdie's awake now." One of them grinned. "Well then…we're going on a little trip. The Commandant wants to speak with you…"

Before Kiryll could say a word, the cuffs around his wrists and ankles were removed. He was shoved to his feet, and he was pushed out of the room. Before he went on his death march, he turned toward the others, seeing their worried looks as he walked away.

**------**

The room he was pushed into was really small. It held a table and a chair, three to four soldiers in the room. When Kiryll was pushed into the chair, he noticed that two of them didn't have their helmets on. One was blond and looked quite young. The other had long, purple hair, and he looked the most interested in him. What was odd about him was that he didn't have his armor on at all.

"What were you two doing?" The blond boy asked. "Why is he bleeding? Didn't I order you not to harm him?"

"He attacked us." One of the soldiers lied. "We had to defend ourselves."

Kiryll was too busy looking around the room to feel any form of anger toward them. After a few seconds, he was finally able to see his travel companions on the other side of the room, tied up but otherwise perfectly fine.

_Thank goodness._ He thought.

He felt himself shoved into the chair, chains tying him up. Around him, the soldiers were anxious, as if they were scared of him. The only exception was the blond and purple-haired men. The blond leaned over the desk.

"Do you know why you're here?" He asked.

"No." He answered truthfully. "It'd be nice if you'd enlighten me."

"It's simple, really." The blond boy leaned back. "You stole his highness's sacred treasure. We believe that you were going to sell it on the black market, like the crook that you are."

Kiryll was about to question what he meant when he pulled something out of his pocket. It was his necklace, the cross necklace that he would turn into a scythe. That's when something struck him odd: the jewel embedded in the cross was the same shape as his Cruxis Crystal.

"You stole that, Kir?!" Kyle gasped. "No freakin' way! How'd you get passed over a thousand soldiers in guard of that, anyway?"

"I…can't remember." Kiryll answered, thinking that he held an explanation that he couldn't tell them.

"What do you mean by that?" The man asked.

"He has amnesia." Stahn kicked in. "He barely remembers his own name."

"He speaks the truth." Kiryll straightened out on his chair. "And as for that necklace…I think it outlived the purpose that I had for it."

"What do you mean…?"

Kiryll turned toward his companions with a meaningful glance, which immediately gave out the explanation that he couldn't say. The brothers looked at each other as Kiryll turned back toward his interrogator. From the corner of his eye, he noticed something move near the purple-haired man and leave the room.

"It's…a long story. Something that I can't tell you." Kiryll looked up. "But if you need that necklace, then I gladly give it back to you."

"You…won't give an explanation." The man asked again.

"You wouldn't give my companions an explanation why I was being arrested, right? Call it even."

The young man shook his head and laughed as he pocketed the necklace. The soldiers looked confused at his reaction, and then started to talk amongst themselves. Many of the rumors his ears could pick up was that they were expecting him to be a lot fiercer.

"You're nicer than I thought." The man said.

"Quite frankly, that's the same term that I was thinking." Kiryll smiled. "Now, would you be so kind as to let my companions go? They didn't have any type of connection to the thievery."

"If that's what you claim."

The man snapped his fingers and gave out the order. Arche stretched once the ropes were away from her body. The brothers both stretched as well, as well as "intimidated" the guards for a while. They laughed at their reactions for a while.

"You're not playing with us, right? You're not going to try to steal this later?"

"It lived out its purpose." Kiryll answered. "His Royal Highness can hold it for all eternity if he wishes."

"You're not too bad, for a thief." The man smiled. "My name is Flynn Scifo."

"Kiryll Nightroad." He greeted. "And by the fact that the guards are now tensing up, someone else is coming up for a one-on-one with me, right?"

Flynn looked confused, like he had no idea what he meant, when the door quickly swung open. Everyone saluted at the two figures that walked into the room. One had orange armor on, and the other was a young woman in a tight outfit. She was glaring at Kiryll, who suddenly felt extremely nervous.

"Commandant." Flynn saluted him.

"You did good work, Flynn. It's her turn now." The man turned to the girl.

"_Wait…isn't that…?"_ Kyle blinked.

"_Who is she?"_ Stahn turned to his brother.

"_I don't know her name…but she's Estelle's personal bodyguard."_ Kyle answered.

Kiryll froze in place. She walked closer toward him, staring not at his eyes, but the strange flock of white hair between his eyes. Before anyone could blink, her blade was out, dug deep into his left arm. He winced, but didn't scream.

"Finally. We meet again." She glared at him. "Do you know who I am?"

"…no."

He could hear her growl under her breath. The blade dug deeper into his shoulder, and blood was staring to stain the blade. From the corner of his eye, he saw Flynn jump in shock, but his Commandant ordering him to stand back.

"You don't remember who I am, but I remember you, down to your deepest detail." She spat. "You killed my parents in cold blood, 5 years ago. Don't you remember holding my father's stone-dead body in your arms? DON'T YOU?!"

The pain was now starting to get very aggravating. Kiryll didn't know what to do. He didn't want to believe that he had killed this woman's parents, but another half of him began to dig deep into his hidden memories, wondering if there was in fact an answer. Before he knew it, he found himself hitting a deep part of his mind.

**------**

"_Killing is so much FUN!" "Who shall we start with?!"_

_**STAB STAB STAB**_

_**Blood blood blood blood blood**_

"_Leave our family alone!" "No, not mommy!"_

"_What should I remove first? The head, or the arms?"_

"_MOTHER!"_

"_The heart always has the most blood…" _

_**A right arm made completely of bone…**_

"_Now we go to the sweet parts…"_

"_Let them go!"_

_**You killed them you killed them you killed them you killed them you killed them you killed them you killed them you killed them you killed them you killed them you killed them you killed them you killed them you killed them you killed them you killed them you killed them you killed them you killed them**_

"_Now… how… to… kill…. You…"_

"_Ah…I know now…"_

"_You_

_Get_

_To_

_Live."_

**------**

He was staring in shock into her eyes. She was starting to cry now, the blade going deeper and deeper into his left shoulder. And yet the pain no longer existed. He knew deep down inside of his soul…he deserved every single bit of it.

"Now…do you remember?" She growled.

"…Chloe." He sighed. "Chloe Valens."

"Good…at least you remember the one who's going to end your life…"

The blade was ripped from his shoulder, and was in the air, preparing to hit his heart. Suddenly, a blast of air shot her back, and the soldier turned to aim toward Kyle, who has his hands up in the air.

"You're not touching him with that blade." He growled. "He didn't kill ANYONE! Stop lying to him!"

"Kyle, that's enough!" Kiryll looked up. "She's telling the truth. I remember everything."

"You serious…?" Stahn stared at him.

Kiryll looked at Chloe, struggling to get to her feet, the look of anger and mental torture written all over her face. He closed his eyes and started to wait for the blade to just come and end his life. Suddenly, there was a huge explosion, jolting his eyes open. A soldier came into the room.

"What's going on?" The Commandant asked.

"Sir, there's a strange man attacking the castle! His arm…it's-" He turned to Kiryll. "What the heck?! What's he doing here? I just saw him outside!"

Everyone stared at each other in confusion before filing out of the room. The others ran toward Kiryll, trying to get the chains loose. Meanwhile, Kiryll sat there in shock, completely confused on what just happened.

"Good Christ, these chains are tight!"

"You really don't know the tactic to break them, do you?"

They all looked up and saw the purple-haired man step out of the shadows and snap the chains in half with his blade. Kiryll staggered up to his feet, and saw him sheathe his blade without skipping a beat.

"What the heck is going on? Since when did random people start attacking?" Arche asked.

"This isn't random. The soldier remarked on his arm. Knowing him, he's connected to your friend here." The man turned around. "You coming or what?"

"We're coming." Kiryll looked at his left arm. "If I could move this."

The man shook his head and tossed him a gel, which he happily ate. Halfway through, he tossed something else at him. Kiryll quickly caught it, showing that it was the necklace that he handed back to Flynn.

"Flynn really isn't that careful about the security of his pockets. Hope you don't mind holding onto it for a few more minutes."

"I don't mind." Kiryll quickly strung it around his neck. "We better find that intruder."

"Wait!" Kyle jumped. "What about the other guys we were with?"

"I sent Repede for them." He answered. "We're gonna meet up with them in the lobby."

"That's good to hear." Stahn sighed. "Wait, who the heck are you? I'm guessing you're not an ordinary soldier, aren't you?"

"You got a good eye." The man turned around. "I'm Yuri Lowell. I was just passing by and got dragged into all this."

"Sorry for dragging you in then, Yuri." Kiryll was at the door. "Kiryll Nightroad. So…shall we get going?"

**------**

**Updates are going FAST! Hopefully, I'm at chapter 10 by the end of the holidays!**


	10. The Man With The Bone Arm

**They gained a new ally as they are held captive in Zaphias. But who's attacking the kingdom? Is it what Yuri said? Could this intruder be related to Kiryll in any sense?**

**------**

True to Yuri's word, they were quick to meet up with the others in the lobby. The soldiers were running out into the main gardens, too busy to notice that their captives were out of their jail cells.

"You guys OK?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah, this dog got us out." Lloyd answered.

"His name's Repede." Emil corrected.

"How the heck did you know that?" Lloyd asked.

"He told us on the way here. Were you paying attention?"

"Um…I'll go on a whim here and say that you don't speak dog." Stahn sighed.

"Not bad." Yuri walked over to him as Repede walked behind him. "Haven't seen another person who can understand what he says."

"You're his owner, I guess. He says good things about you."

"That's a new concept."

"What the heck is going on?" One of the girls asked. By the sound of her voice, Kiryll concluded that this was Marta. "When we got out of the cages, all of the soldiers were gone."

"Someone's ransacking the kingdom." Yuri answered. "I figured that we might as well get some more firepower, since I don't think that the soldiers are going to do any good."

"They never do." Arche jumped onto her broom. "C'mon. TO THE GARDENS!"

"Sure. Run INTO the danger." Kyle shook his head. "Couldn't we do something new and wait for it to come to _us?"_

**------**

By the time Kiryll and the gang were able to find out the location of the main garden, they had to duck two incoming bodies that crashed around them. Looking ahead, they noticed a familiar looking young man tossing away a whole crowd of soldiers in one blow.

"Holy crap!" Kyle jumped back.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Lloyd grabbed one of his blades.

The attacker had heard what Lloyd had said, and turned toward the group, tossing away another group of soldiers in his path. His entire right arm was a gigantic bone structure, the hand big enough to crush a human being. But what shocked everyone was that, despite that one small change, he looked exactly like Kiryll.

"Whoa!" Yuri flinched. "Identity crisis, much!"

"Well, well…we meet again." The man grinned, his yellow eyes flashing toward the group. "What identity are you going under this time?"

"What??? What the heck are you talking about?!" Kiryll jumped back.

"Aw, come on. You aren't the type to use the same name twice, you know! After all these years, I thought you knew that." The man shook his head. "No matter. At least I finally got you out of hiding. I can finally get what I desperately need!"

Kiryll was about to ask when he noticed Flynn charging out of nowhere and attacking for his heart. The man quickly ripped him out of the way, but not before Flynn ripped a few buttons off his shirt. It was then that he saw an empty keycrest on his chest.

"Flynn!"

Yuri growled as he grabbed his weapon and charged to help his comrade. Instead, the young man came out of nowhere and tackled him out of the way. He was sent flying and crashed into Stahn and the blond girl with long hair.

"Collette!" Lloyd gasped. "You bastard! _**Tempest!"**_

Everyone ducked out of the way as Lloyd slashed the young man into the air, rapidly slashing at him with all of his might. He smashed him into the middle of the garden, leaving a huge crater where he crashed.

"Holy crap…" Kyle shivered. "Yet another name on the list of people I will not anger."

"You and me both." Kiryll turned to him.

A flame roared from the crater, knocking thousands of other soldiers out of the way. Everyone turned and saw the young man dash into the air and hover over Lloyd. Out of sheer reaction, Kiryll grabbed the necklace around his neck and threw it off, activating its scythe form. Their contact threw everyone away with a sharp blast.

"Not bad…you always seemed to have a penchant to knowing how I would react!" The man laughed.

"What the heck do you want from me?" Kiryll yelled.

"I want my Cruxis Crystal back!" He answered. "Isn't that so hard to understand?!"

The man grabbed it, causing Kiryll to flinch. He wanted to pull away, but he knew in doing so, he would only rip his Cruxis Crystal away, leaving it to whoever this guy was. He tried pushing away with his scythe, but there was no avail.

"_**Cerberus Strike!"**_

As quick as the wind itself, Yuri came out of nowhere and punched the attacker away. Before he could react, he slashed rapidly with his sword, and continued his assault _while switching the hand that he was using_.

"Whoa…" Emil gawked. "Who is this guy?"

"Yuri Lowell." Arche nodded. "Be glad he's on our side."

"Not bad. I always wanted a challenge." The man grinned. "I haven't expected any less from you, of all people."

"Nice to see that I'm well known." Yuri answered. "You got nowhere to go, and we have talented hands with blades to your neck. What do you say we make this easier on everyone here and just give yourself in?"

"Well…how about…" The man stood up. _**"Phantom Dragon Dance!"**_

Yuri didn't have any time to react. He was thrown into the air by his bony arm, and three golden dragons formed out of his eyes and ate rapidly at him. Before he could get his blade out to react, the man was already a few inches from his face.

"And we're just getting started."

A familiar aura erupted from him, and he began to slash at Yuri with his bony arm. When he was done, he pointed at him with his left hand, and began to shoot beam after beam of purple light at him.

"_**Darkness Destruction!"**_

He slammed Yuri into the ground, his bony fingers around his neck. The soldiers began to panic, their best soldier _(even though he really wasn't one of them)_ downed for the count. Marta turned toward Kiryll.

"You. Back me up. It's you he's after, right?"

"I can handle that." He turned to Stahn and Kyle. "Ready?"

"More than ever!"

They all charged into the fight. As they slashed away at the strange attacker, Marta began to chant something under her breath, something that Arche caught on to. She blinked in confusion as she flew over her head.

_Wait…isn't she from Aselia? _She thought. _I thought humans from Aselia are cursed not to have any form of magical abilities! What's her story?_

"God of healing, bless those who stand before you. Grant me the righteous power to banish evil." She jumped into the air. _**"Radiant Roar!"**_

The spinner on her arm began to spin rapidly, and a huge circle surrounded everyone. It slowly began to rain around everyone, and as Kiryll could see, it began to stab him deeply. The man jumped away. The rain dropped onto Yuri, who quickly regained consciousness.

"Whoa…" Kyle blinked. "That's fascinating."

"Not bad…" He grinned. "Well then, time to throw up my last weapon!"

Before their eyes, they saw him throw up his bony hand again one last time, only to reveal a woman in his hand. She had pink hair and a white outfit, bright pink wings crushed between his fingers.

"Estelle!" Yuri yelled.

His thumb touched a place where her Cruxis Crystal would be, and a violent shriek echoed into the air. The sound drove everyone to their knees, unable to react or fight back. He turned toward Kiryll, down for the count.

"Wish I could've done this sooner." He sighed. "Well then, your crystal is mine-"

"_**Photon!"**_

A light glyph flashed over his head, and knocked the woman away from his arms. Yuri quickly snapped back into sanity and caught her as she fell toward the ground. The man growled, showing Arche standing triumphantly on her broom.

"Using the Siren's Cry on us, are we?" She beamed. "You forgot that we half-elves are immune to that technique!"

The man growled and was about to attack when he felt a huge burst of energy shoot up from his back. He was able to quickly turn and see a man with fiery red hair shoot a huge orb of mana in his face.

"Now die! _**Radiant Howl!"**_

He was quickly shot away, crashing into a wall. The soldiers quickly got out the way as Kiryll looked up in confusion. Before anyone else could ask, he saw Astrid run from the corner of the room, sliding quickly between the soldiers as she raised her staff in the air. He quickly noticed the strange aura around her, similar to the one the attacker had.

"Gracious goddess who rules this planet, give me the power to grant the angels the sword of justice needed to vanquish the evil from your holy kingdom! _**Michael's Dance!"**_

She began to glow a radiant yellow, but nothing happened. Kiryll began to question what she had done when he turned to see Yuri radiating the same aura that Luke and the attacker were radiating earlier.

_The power to enforce a Mystic Arte…_ He thought. _I didn't even know a technique like that existed…_

"Now…that's better." Yuri grinned. "Where shall we start?"

He was up on his feet, his blade ready for the use. Before anyone could move, he was already slashing through the attacker like he wasn't there. Kiryll could smell fresh blood drip from him. Meanwhile, he could barely hear Yuri's parting words.

"_**Savage Wolf Fury!"**_

The beams that erupted from his sword all collided with him, throwing him in the air. When the dust parted, everyone saw his true form. He had long, purple hair and gray skin. Other than that, he still kept the majority of the guise he had earlier.

"Not bad. You could've actually done something." He answered as he rose in the air. "Guess it's time I take my leave. I already know where to look for you next time, anyway."

"Who the heck are you?!" Kiryll called.

"…Guede." He answered. "I'll be seeing you."

Everyone watched as the monster dashed up into the air. Kiryll watched slowly as he vanished into nothing in the skies. Looking back down, he watched as all the soldiers gathered up the wounded and the dead. Yuri dashed off to Flynn, and he saw Chloe run off toward the pink haired girl that he concluded to be the princess. He watched Luke and Astrid run up to his group.

"Are you guys OK?" She asked.

"Yeah, we're fine." Stahn nodded. "How'd you know we were here, anyway?"

"Rumor." Luke answered. "Chat told me and Astrid to investigate."

"That's nice of her." Kyle grinned.

"I think she was more worried about losing her 'rising star'." Arche pointed at Kiryll.

As they were arguing, Kiryll turned his head to see the princess rise to her feet with Chloe's help. When they made eye contact, Kiryll tried to smile, but she flinched and turned away. He dropped his gaze and started to look around at the damage.

"You saw him, didn't you?"

"Clearly as ever." Stahn leaned down to him. "Was he the guy that Chloe was talking about? The one that killed her parents?"

"Then why do I remember it?" Kiryll looked up. "That was definitely from MY memories."

"You saw how crazy this guy is." Stahn stood up. "He definitely did something to you."

"Great…so that means we're meeting up with him again?"

"Most likely." Stahn sighed. "Just what we needed. He was after your Cruxis Crystal too."

"He said it was his." Kiryll looked up. "It registered with me just fine."

"OK, that you have to go to Jade for." He laughed. "I'm out of information for that topic!"

Kiryll shook his head and laughed quietly with him. Standing up, he saw a man walking toward him, the soldiers saluting in his path. He had bright blond hair and a green robe on him. From the reaction, he concluded it to be the prince.

"Your Majesty!" Flynn saluted.

"Oh, then this is Ioder then." Luke answered.

"The son of Duke Fabre from Baticul. I'm honored to finally meet you." He turned back to Kiryll. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Which part of it do you believe?" He asked, trying to sound calm.

"From the looks of things, you obviously weren't the one who caused all of this." He looked at the mess. "By the way, do you know why my family keeps that necklace sacred?"

"Necklace?" Kiryll looked at the scythe in his hands. "What, this?"

"It's called the Cross of Sacred Light. Legend has it that the original owner of it was a heron himself, and he granted it to my ancestor for his participation in the Sacred Purge."

"The Sacred Purge." Lloyd stepped forward. "When five herons ascended into true angel rank and defeated the evil incarnate who tried to plunge the world into the miasma."

"Yes, you've heard of this legend as well." Ioder turned back to Kiryll. "What was so unique about this cross, he told us, was that in the arms of its true holder, it will morph into a weapon best suited for the soul who wields it. I think it's saying that it has found a new wielder."

"Me…?"

"Yes. Why else would it hold your Cruxis Crystal as well?"

Kiryll was about to question when he saw Lloyd tap at his chest. Looking down, he noticed that Guede had ripped open his collar, revealing his Cruxis Crystal to the world. He blushed and rubbed the back of his head, feeling a little naked with it hanging out.

"As the heir to the Zaphias throne, I give the Cross of Sacred Light to you. Also, I pardon you from your sins and are free to go back to your Guild."

"Thank you, your highness." Kiryll bowed to him.

"Though this problem is over, I have yet to quench my fear of that Guede man attempting to retake the princess." Ioder looked down.

"Yeah. The thought of that confused me." He added.

"AUGH! BIG WORDS! STOP IT, YOU'RE HURTING ME!" Stahn whined.

"????????" Kyle stared at him.

"Are you saying that we should look in on who this Guede person is?" Marta asked.

"If it wouldn't be that much trouble to you." Ioder asked.

"Well…seeing as though he's after _me_, it wouldn't hurt to try to look in on him." Kiryll answered.

"Try? You will figure something out on creepy-long-haired-hippie guy." Arche answered. "Hopefully, Dad knows something on him."

"Yeah, like Jade knows EVERYTHING on this freakin' planet." Luke sighed.

"Wait…did you say JADE?" Marta gawked. "As in Jade Curtiss?"

"Yeah, that's him." Luke turned to the girl.

"Wow…" She turned to Emil. "We have to join this guild!!"

"Huh?! Wh-why?!"

"Because we have too!" Marta darted her head back to Luke. "He's the only one who can tell us about the Sacred Beasts."

"The…what?" Stahn rubbed the back of his head. "Wow, too much information. Can we do something practical and just wait until we're on the ship to start talking about this?!"

"Sounds good. The soldiers don't look too happy that we're extending our stay." Lloyd looked around.

"Mind if I hitch a ride?" Yuri asked.

"You? I thought you were a soldier here." Emil turned to him.

"I'm not. All the more reason why I'm asking."

"I don't see why not." Kiryll smiled. "You're onboard."

**------**

**Yes, these chapters are just flying out! I don't know how many chapters I can burn through, though. This is making up for the months of lost time I had in school doing schoolwork.**


	11. One Night :::FILLER!:::

**The mysterious Guede had burned deep into Kiryll's memories. The fact that he might hold something to his forgotten past means that they'll meet up with him again. And now that he's out of prison, Kiryll might actually learn something.**

**------**

With the newcomers running through the Guild's trials, Kiryll had nothing better else to do. So with Astrid working on tonight's dinner, he decided to get some fresh air on the ship's rooftop. It was still floating and not submerged, so he had nothing really to worry about.

As he leaned over on the railing, he watched the sea bounce the ship up and down on the water. For what felt like hours, all he saw was nothing but the horizon and the stars. Suddenly, as the ship turned west, he saw a huge tree in the distance. At a closer glance, it looked as if it was glowing in the moonlight.

"That is the World Tree known as Genesis."

Kiryll turned around and saw Jade walking out from the elevator, propping his glasses as he always does and joining him at the railing. He noticed that he never once looked in Kiryll's eyes, but was staring intently at the tree.

"Genesis." Kiryll repeated.

"The tree that supplies and recycles the unlimited amount of mana in the world." He added. "You could say that it is also the gateway to the afterlife, and the one that grants souls the mana they need to live."

"It seems reasonable enough." Kiryll stared at the tree. "With a role as big as that, I can't help but wonder if Genesis chooses which soul becomes a heron."

"No. It doesn't."

Kiryll turned his head toward Jade, who had a strange hint of sadness in his voice. He pushed his glasses to his face again, which hid his eyes, making Kiryll wonder if he was silently tearing. But when he lowered his hand, his face was perfectly dry.

"Then do you know who does that?" He asked.

"…" Jade continued to look at the tree. "I only know of a legend that holds that. Five herons, herald as the Sacred Pentagram."

"Five herons…Prince Ioder mentioned something about them too." Kiryll looked at his necklace. "He said that the Cross of Sacred Light was owned by one of them."

"Yes. That is the only indication that states that the Sacred Pentagram had indeed existed." Jade looked up. "They say that if a soul can pass through the five trials passed down by the Sacred Pentagram, they become a heron once it is born."

"Five trials? What are they?"

"How should I know?" Jade laughed. "I'm not a heron."

Kiryll shook his head. Half of his mind was shocked that Jade was even genuinely laughing. The door behind him opened, and they saw Arche tumble through the doors, closing the elevator behind her. Jade couldn't help but laugh at his daughter's state of panic.

"Ah. What's wrong with you, Arche?" He asked.

"Freakin' Marta, that's what!!!" She yelled. "She's hunting everyone down just to find you!"

"Me? She has to be aware that a half-elf such as you would have more information about the topic than I, a mere human." Jade laughed.

"Whatever, Dad." She grumbled. "It's about the Sacred Beasts. Seriously, everything with the word 'sacred' in it, she thinks you know about it…"

"Yes, that." He grinned. "That is, in fact, related to the Sacred Pentagram."

"The Sacred Beasts? Wait, aren't they the Summon Spirits?" Kiryll looked confused. "Claus mentioned something about them. He mentioned them being Persona of exceptionally strong Wielders."

"Claus is correct…to a fault." Jade turned back to the tree. "Arche, how many Summon Spirits are there in this world?"

"Fourteen or fifteen, I think." She answered. "Why?"

"Out of how many eons, only fifteen Wielders actually got their Persona to be Sacred Beasts…" Kiryll rubbed the bottom of his chin.

"No, actually." Jade grinned. "You might not know this, but there were only five. All of those Sacred Beasts were Persona of five Wild Cards."

"You serious?!" Arche gasped. "That's…that's amazing!"

"It truly is an astounding feat. And as you might already know, those five herons form the Sacred Pentagram that look over this world and the Sacred Tree." Jade pointed at the tree.

"I might have to correct you on something, doc."

Jade could only laugh as Kiryll and Arche turned to see Yuri walk out of the shadows. Behind him, Kyle and Stahn were both fuming at him for completely blowing their cover. They were arguing for a few minutes before the doctor turned around.

"It's about time you joined in the conversation." He smiled.

"Well, there wasn't a need to." Yuri walked to him. "But not all of the Summon Spirits were Persona, you know. You out of all people should know this piece of information. It concerns the majority of the rulings on your side of the planet."

"I haven't forgotten, Yuri." Jade shook his head. "I didn't think it was necessary to note it yet."

"Note what?" Kyle asked. "There's already too much information to know about them."

"It concerns one particular Summon Spirit." Jade began. "Like the others, he began as a Persona of the Wielder who also held Sylph and Volt. Unlike those two, however, when that heron joined the Sacred Pentagram, it ended up holding its own personality, living a life as a heron before becoming a Sacred Beast."

"Wait…I know this one. He governs sound, right?" Stahn blinked. "Lorelei, the being who rules over the continent of Niddhog."

"Wow, something you know. What is the world coming too?" Arche laughed.

As they were arguing, Kiryll shook his head and laughed as well. He turned toward Jade, who merely smiled and propped up his glasses as usual. Yuri had to separate the two of them to make sure they wouldn't kill each other. The elevator began to operate, and they saw Astrid peek through the door.

"Dinner's ready, you guys." She said.

"YAHOO! FOOOOD!"

"Race you there!"

"First one there gets the biggest piece of the dessert!"

And everyone watched as Kyle, Stahn and Arche dashed down the stairs next to the elevator like coyotes on the prowl. They were in shock for about a few minutes before giving up and heading down to the cafeteria.

**------**

The cafeteria looked pretty big. Despite that note, there were few people going around with trays. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Stahn and Reid fight over the last piece of peach pie.

"Yeah, dinnertime can be a little chaotic."

He turned his head to see Mint walking through the door, a tray filled with food. He couldn't help but look around for her usual companions, noticing that they weren't around her at all. She giggled.

"If you're looking for the others, they already got their plates." She pointed to a group next to the door. "The food here is delicious, so don't worry about food poisoning."

"Uh…thanks." Kiryll answered.

Mint laughed as she walked to join her group. Kiryll turned and grabbed an empty tray somewhere nearby, and then he headed off to what looked like to be a buffet line. He snuck quickly passed Stahn and Reid's small brawl and grabbed what was in the line. When he reached out for the last of a bagel, he found another hand reaching out. He looked up and saw Luke looking back at him.

"Oh." Kiryll pulled his hand back. "Hey, Luke. You feeling better these days?"

"Better than ever." Luke tossed the bagel on his tray without even trying. "I just got my energy back, and soon I should be able to get some heron skills."

"Huh?" Kiryll blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You don't know? Well, to tell you the truth, I don't know that much either." Luke answered, grabbing three other things. "One of them includes seeing if you're ready to get a Persona, like you."

"But I thought that only few herons could get a Persona."

"Well, we'll have to see that for ourselves." Luke turned. "I don't really know the basis of these 'skills', but I'm willing to find out."

Kiryll nodded and headed toward an empty table, noticing that Luke had been following him. He said peacefully next to him without a second word. He shrugged it off and took a bite off the soup.

"This actually good." He noted.

"Wow! It really is." Luke pulled out the spoon from his mouth. "Who cooked this?"

"I heard it was Astrid."

Barely had that sentence left his mouth when he saw her pass by with a tray of food. With his quick reflexes, Kiryll noticed that she was headed for an empty table, and that everyone else had already sat down to eat.

"Astrid, where're you headed off too?" Luke pulled the words out of Kiryll's head. "C'mon, sit with us!"

"Yeah, sit with us!"

It was then that he realized that Arche and the Aileron brothers were already sitting at the table. He turned back to her with a nod, which made her blush and slowly sit next to Arche, facing Luke.

"That's better." Stahn laughed. "You don't have to be THAT shy around us! We're friends, right?"

"Yeah…" She laughed nervously. "Sorry…"

"She's like that around individual people, relax." Arche said. "She lightens up around large groups, though."

"I see." Luke shook his head. "That explains why she's looking down."

"Come on, Astrid. You were doing so well before." Arche laughed.

"Uh…" She looked up slowly. "Eheheh…"

"That's better." Luke smiled. "You have nice eyes. I never noticed that."

She blushed even more, and darted her head toward her food, causing everyone to laugh. Kiryll decided to leave them alone and continued to eat in silence. Suddenly, he was aware of a presence that wasn't anyone familiar, and he turned his head up to see Tear Grants looking back at him.

"I was wondering where Luke was." She said. "Last time I saw him, he was on a mission."

"Yeah, saving our behinds." Kiryll laughed.

"I want to know who the attacker was. The one Luke fought." She asked. "In secret, if I can insist."

**------**

He couldn't lie to her. When she dragged him to the lobby, he told him everything that had happened in Zaphias, down to Guede's appearance and name. Tear didn't look shocked until he mentioned his name.

"Guede…are you sure that he said that name?"

"Yes." Kiryll answered. "He said it loud enough, directed toward me."

"Then…" Tear turned away. _It can't possibly mean-_

"Tear, what is it?" He felt worried.

"I-it's nothing." She started to walk away. "I thought it was something else. I was wrong. I'm sorry. Forget I said anything."

Before Kiryll could question, Tear was already out of the lobby, heading back to the cafeteria. He knew that he couldn't get any form of opinion from her, so he decided to drop the subject. He was about to head back when his ears heard soft movement. Not turning his head, he noticed a strange pink bump hide behind the boxes nearby.

_Hm? Hey, isn't that…?_

He stared at the bump as it whimpered and finally darted down into hiding. He contemplated on saying anything before giving up and headed back after Tear. Whoever it was, it probably wouldn't be that big of a deal.

**------**

Dinner, despite the occasional small dispute between Stahn and Reid on who's gonna get what for dessert, was uneventful. He tried to fall asleep, but the thought of Guede trying to find him robbed him of his sleep. He headed off to the mission room, where he noticed Yuri, Keele, Mint and Guy flipping through the missions board.

"You're doing missions this late?" Kiryll looked confused.

"It's not that strange to think about." Keele looked at him. "Though if it's so weird, why are you still awake?"

"Can't sleep." He answered. "I tried to, let me tell you."

"Well, maybe a late-night mission would get you tired." Yuri folded his arms. "They do that to the soldiers."

"Uh…maybe I'll…pass for now." Kiryll laughed.

"C'mon. It'll be good for you." Yuri grinned.

Kiryll thought about it for a few minutes before noticing from the corner of his eyes a moving shadow. Guy noticed it too, but Kiryll motioned everyone to be quiet. He walked quietly toward the shadow source.

"I guess…maybe one mission." He said, looking at Guy.

"You're…doing it alone?" Guy responded, trying to sound normal.

"Nah, probably not." Kiryll walked closer to the sound, his footsteps quiet even to his ears. "I might ask Stahn to join me. Or maybe Norma. Then again, this would be a nice warm-up for Lloyd. But…"

As quick as his skills could allow him, he dashed to the set of boxes and gently pulled the figure out of the shadows. It was a young woman with pink hair and white travel clothes. She squeaked in shock as she was pulled out.

"I think she wants to come with me." He turned to her.

"Estelle…!" Yuri blinked. "What are you doing here?!"

"I-I'm sorry…" She shivered. "I-it's just…."

Kiryll grabbed his necklace and let Estelle go as he deflected an incoming sword. He threw the attacker off and heard the body skid to a halt just a few feet away. From the shine of the blade, he noticed the shine on the button.

"Chloe." Kiryll tied the necklace around his neck. "Figured that the personal bodyguard of the princess would join her on her espionage."

"Kiryll…" She stood up and sheathed her sword. "I still have some doubts on you, you know."

"Hold as many as you want." Kiryll watch her pass him.

"Estelle, what the heck are you doing here?" Yuri stared at her. "Does Flynn even know that you're here?"

"I left a message on my dresser." She answered.

"But you came here all on your own." Yuri looked concerned. "C'mon, Estelle. You can't be going around on your own like that. You could get hurt."

"I don't care." She stomped her foot. "Which is why I'm joining this guild!"

"You serious?" Yuri folded his arms. "Estelle, this is serious business. You could seriously get hurt."

"I don't care!" She stomped her foot again. "I don't want to be sitting down in a castle if I'm not going to do anything! Plus-"

Apparently Estelle wasn't planning on saying that. She blushed and turned around, which made Yuri stare in question at her. Kiryll couldn't tell if he was blushing as well. Chloe stepped forward to him.

"She'll constantly be under my care." She informed him. "I won't leave her out of my sight."

Yuri turned to Estelle, whose tight expression softened to a smile. He couldn't help but smile too, and that's when Kiryll noticed that there was in fact a faint blush on his cheeks. He shook his head and quietly giggled.

**------**

**Yes, this story has filler. I'm sorry.**


	12. Summon from the King

**A night's rest is all Kiryll needs to get his worries down, at least for one day. But with Chloe onboard, Kiryll will have to be on his toes, for she might get her revenge at a moment's notice.**

**------**

After the incident concerning Chloe and Estelle, Kiryll oddly had a good night's sleep. Once he was up, he walked toward the mission room, only to see that it was empty. He went to the mission machine and started to skim, surprised that it was still on.

_Wow, nothing. Most of them look like they're taken._ He continued to skim. _Hm?_

He stopped on one particular mission. It wasn't a "mission", per se. In fact, it had his name on it, and by the looks of it, had just been posted recently. He quickly read it, and realized that it was from the kingdom of Tethe'alla.

_What the heck do they want with me?_

Despite his doubts, he decided to visit their capital and see what was up. Turning around to get ready, he noticed two soldiers marching into the room and saluting him. By the looks of their armor, they were definitely from Meltokio, Tethe'alla's capital.

"Are you Kiryll Nightroad?" One of them asked.

"Yes, that's me." He answered. He tucked his necklace safely into hiding.

"We are from the Royal Meltokio Guard!" The other one announced. "Under the order of His Highness, we request your company."

"His Highness…" Kiryll walked toward them. "What does he want with me?"

Before any of the knights could answer, he felt an electrical surge from his back. He collapsed to the ground and passed out immediately. The two soldiers turned to see a man dressed like a bandit, a dog next to him.

"That was too close." He said. "Seriously though, you gotta do better than that! You can't even convince me that you're the finest soldiers Meltokio's got!"

"Don't blame us, Moses!" One of them grumbled. "You're the one who wanted to pick him up at the worst location ever!"

"Hey, look. Getting him at the source is the only way to get this guy at his weakest!" He petted the wolf next to him. "Isn't that right, Giet?"

The wolf howled in agreement. He snapped his fingers, and two other men came out of the shadows to toss their prey onto Moses's back. He turned around to make sure no one was coming,

"Well, looks like this guy's got a mighty fine crystal!" Moses grinned. "OK then! To the ship!"

**------**

The ground was moving quickly underneath him. The only thing that woke him up was when the ground moved so quickly, he bumped his head. Shaking the shock off, he looked up, only to realize that he was tied up and on a small ship, filled with bandits. The wolf in front of him began to growl, causing one of them _(possibly the leader)_ to look at him.

"Look at that! Little birdie's finally gotten up!"

"What the…?" Kiryll slowly sat up. "Oh, great. Don't tell me you're…"

"Bandits. But we're better known as Cruxis Hunters!" One of them chirped.

"And the fact that we got a really strong one without even trying." Another one laughed.

"Don't sound like we won yet!" A third one said. "We've yet to figure out how to unlock it!"

Kiryll looked confused. Looking down, he saw that his collar was open, but his Cruxis Crystal was still in its Keycrest. A small shine made him realize that the Cross was still there, hidden from sight.

"Figured that a high-ranking heron such as you would have a seal." The leader turned around. "We'll break through that as well. They don't call me Moses Sandor for nothing."

"Moses…" Kiryll blinked. "You're from the Legacy."

"So you do know us." Moses grinned. "I'm honored. You're gonna be marked as our second hunt ever."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think that will be happening."

Everyone looked up to see a young man floating in front of him. His hair was light red, and he was wearing odd shades of pink. What caught Kiryll's interest was that his Cruxis Crystal, unlike his, was exposed to the air, and his white and pink wings were clearly visible in the air.

"Sorry boys, but Kiryll Nightroad is coming with me." He stated.

"Another heron…hah! Two in one shot! This is perfect!" Moses cheered. "And look, it's the Chosen of Tethe'alla! There's even more money coming for us, boys!"

_The Chosen…_ Kiryll blinked.

"Aw come on. Can't we all just get along?" The man asked. "You know that you can't take out his Cruxis Crystal if you tried it the first time?"

"Well then, we'll do it again! We'll go on as long as we have too!" One of the men stated.

"Oh well…I tried." He turned around. "Yuri?"

A figure jumped up from behind him, and he noticed a familiar purple blur blow all of the bandits away with just one slash of the blade, a technique that he didn't know he had. The wind snapped the ropes around him, and Kiryll jumped into the air, his wings snapping open. He grabbed Yuri's hands and flew straight in the air, the man joining him.

"Shall we go?" The man asked.

"What about them?" Kiryll asked.

"They'll be fine. The Legacy is just nearby." The man answered. "It's just too bad that they were in our territory."

"Aselia's the only place where herons can't be hunted." Yuri looked at him. "It'll be nice, not having someone hunting down your back."

"Yeah, it is." Kiryll turned to the man. "Are you our escort?"

"Sure." The man shrugged. "Why not?"

_I'm guessing that's a no._

**------**

After a few minutes of landing, Kiryll found himself in front of a giant castle. After a few loops and bends, the three of them found themselves in the throne room. He clearly noticed three beings in the room, one he couldn't tell at all.

"You must be Kiryll Nightroad." The man on the throne stood.

"You must be the king." He answered, bowing. "It's a pleasure to be in your presence."

"We were wondering where you were." One of the men laughed. "Despite the little information that I know of you, I have to admit that it's weird to see you late."

"Jade?" Kiryll jumped to his feet. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, it's only natural for one to come when he's summoned." Jade propped his glasses. "Plus, it's been a while since I saw a friend of mine."

It was only then that he got a good look of the other person with them. He had long red hair and wore what seemed to be a priest's robes, adjusted for easy movement. A blade was attached to his back, and he was barely looking at him.

"Kiryll, this is Kratos Aurion." Jade grinned. "Kratos, this…is Kiryll Nightroad."

He couldn't help but wonder why Jade placed so much emphasis on his name. Turning to Kratos, he still noticed that he wasn't turned to him, staring only at the king. It was only then that he realized that they were ignoring him the entire time.

"Is there something that you wanted with us, your majesty?" Kiryll quickly asked.

"First off, I wanted to congratulate you on stopping the Vanguard back in the Dynasty Ruins." The King stated. "As you probably know, they want to overthrow my rule."

"All together?" Kiryll asked. "I thought they only wanted a government over Sylvarant."

"I'm willing to resolve that issue politically if they can get the nerve to open peace talks." The King nodded. "But as you can see, that hasn't been working too well."

"It's a growing organization, getting support from all over the world." Kratos turned to Kiryll. "Most of them are Cruxis Hunters, mainly to pay for the weapons and plans that are involved."

"Yes. And according to my spies, they have jump started the human ranch in Iselia." The King stated.

"Human…ranch?"

Kiryll turned toward the others, who all somewhat cringed at the term. The one that really surprised him was Yuri, who just looked furious. His fists had tightened so much, they looked as if they were going to bleed.

"Why in the world didn't you notice this before?" Yuri asked, hiding his anger. "I thought this would be the first thing on your desk."

"I know this is upsetting, Yuri-"

"Of course this is upsetting!" He blurted out of nowhere. "This is a human ranch, for crying out loud! How the heck does that pass over everyone's head?!"

"…It was because the man I sent to observe that section of my kingdom…" The King closed his eyes. "Found that they don't use 'humans' for their research."

"Herons?" Kiryll's eyes opened.

"No." The man behind him folded his arms. "They use 'bastard creations', 'replacements', 'beings that shouldn't be alive'…"

"Replicas…" Jade concluded.

Kiryll found himself cringing at that statement. _Replicas._ He found himself thinking. _How disgusting. Beings created just so that the feeble hearted could have something to look at while easing away from the stress of reality._

_Wait…_ Kiryll blinked. _Since when did I start thinking like that?_

"So they're using replicas to create their Exspheres. Not bad for going under the government's nose." Kratos folded his arms. "In the end, a creation as low-leveled as a replica would generally be able to win over human interest, despite the level of atrocity."

"Wait…" Kiryll blinked. "Exspheres? What are they?"

"Well, apply your common knowledge about herons to this situation." Kratos stared at him.

"Herons…they have a Cruxis Crystal to suppress an abnormal amount of mana." Kiryll stated.

"Genetically-wise, then." Kratos added.

"…Oh." Kiryll's eyes widened. "Exspheres are just…Cruxis Crystals?"

"Why do you think Hunters are so popular these days?" Jade folded his arms. "The powers of the Exspheres don't just come out of nowhere."

Kiryll found himself cringing again. From the back of his head, he could imagine Exspheres in the hands of inexperienced fighters, who might end up suffering ultimate consequences. On the other hand, he could imagine a suffering heron, without a Cruxis Crystal, dying on the street. He could see the young man that everyone had seemingly ignored cringe as well.

"Yes. And because of the status of many of my people, it is law that Hunters are not allowed to go on with their practices while in Tethe'alla and Sylvarant." The king folded his arms. "Long ago, this was the place where Hunters would thrive on their trade. I guess cutting out their source can't end their ways."

"Cutting out their resources isn't a way to end a long-going prejudice." Kratos informed him. "The only way to do so is to change their way of thinking. And most of these Hunters have a long grudge against us because of something that one of us had done to them. This is their only way to vent out their anger."

Kiryll bit his lip and looked down to the ground. His mind slowly drifted toward Moses and his gang of Cruxis Hunters, and began to wonder if they had actually went through something like Kratos said. Chloe came to his mind as well.

_Could Chloe be a Hunter?_ He shook his head. _No way…Estelle's a heron. She's her personal bodyguard. There's no way that could be possible. Chloe would've gotten her Cruxis Crystal already if that was true._

"Wait!" Kiryll jumped in shock. "Kratos, you're a…?"

"This is Sylvarant, Kiryll." He turned to him. "It's OK for us to state our origins in the open."

"Yeah, but…" Kiryll paused. "Hunters can still find ways to get you."

"Kratos won't have anything to worry." The king folded his arms. "He's powerful, more so that even you, despite your reputation. He'll be a valuable asset when we deal with these Hunters. Not to mention that they bothered to find human specimens to make their replica guinea pigs."

"They'll be stopped, king." The young man stated. Kiryll almost forgot that he was there. "Leave it to us."

"Oh? Zelos, you're coming with us?" Jade blinked in confusion.

"Who else knows where it is?" The man bragged. Kiryll decided that it was safe to assume that they were the same person.

"So then…" Kiryll folded his arms. "Where is this human ranch?"

**------**

**So…another chapter. Booyah. And let me tell you that I have just hit one of the major arches of the story. THAT'S RIGHT! We actually got passed all the boring intros and stuff! It's time to get to the meat of everything!**


	13. The Human Ranch

**A human ranch…a place where Exspheres will be born from Cruxis Crystals, at the mercy of the replicas that are forced to endure this burden. What can Kiryll and his newfound companions do to stop this growing trade?**

**Oh, by the way, I'm introducing something in this chapter. All of you will be very pleased with what's going to happen ^_^, though feel free to complain on how late I included them -_-**

**------**

The place wasn't all that big. In fact, there was a lot of debris surrounding the rusted gateway and broken doorway. A bit of a scan revealed that there were in fact monsters roaming around the area.

"This is a human ranch?" Kiryll looked around. "It looks…broken."

"Judgment by looks is far from being the intellectual that you actually are, Kiryll." Jade propped his glasses. "And here I thought you were smarter. Guess I was wrong."

"Hey, I'm just saying." Kiryll turned back to the ranch. "I was just expecting security guards or something."

"Really? Security? On this place?" Zelos looked around. "Yeah, you got a point on that."

"Maybe these monsters are the guards." Yuri folded his arms. "Doesn't these Exspheres have abilities similar to Cruxis Crystals?"

"Powers?" Kiryll turned his head. "What, like our magic?"

"Not just that. They're like birth marks. Cruxis Crystals all have one of several unique abilities. The stronger the crystal, the more powerful the trait." Kratos walked forward. "Yours, for example, based on the rumors going around, is **'Wild Card'**, granting you the ability of multiple Persona. That skill in itself is rare."

"What's yours then?" Kiryll asked. "If you have such a powerful skill."

"…you'll find out in due time."

Kiryll blinked in confusion as Kratos walked away from them, heading slowly into the walkway. Looking around at the others, who shrugged it off, they headed closer into the entrance, trying to avoid the monsters.

"So…each Cruxis Crystal has their own ability?" Kiryll stared at everyone. "And herons are…what, a fifth of the world?"

"Not all of them are battle-related, Kiryll." Jade walked passed him. "In fact, most of the abilities herons have aren't. Some vary from being able to learn faster and run quicker to telekinetic abilities."

"Oh yeah…" Kiryll blinked. "Like Emil, for instance."

"Emil?" Zelos laughed. "You actually met that guy? Where?"

"He was in the Dynasty Ruins when I went there." Kiryll straightened himself. "He wasn't alone."

"Did he have those monsters with him?" Zelos asked. "Or did he actually have girls with him?"

"Two of them." Kiryll answered, looking confused. "One's blond and the other had longer hair that parted."

"Augh! Lucky bastard!" Zelos whined.

"…anyway…" Kiryll watched Zelos cringe a little bit. "Emil always seems to have monsters around him, but they never seemed to have any harm on him."

"Yeah…they were called Contractors." Kiryll turned to him. "If I remember correctly, we battled one like that too, but…she was a half-elf."

"I see." Jade propped his glasses again. "They must both have the **'Chain'** ability. Though on the case of the girl you were talking about, she must've had an Exsphere with that ability."

"Geez, these herons really are driving me crazy." Yuri rubbed the back of his head. "Can't they all just fly and shoot laser beams or something?"

"Then you're just very negligent of the capacity that they can do." Jade laughed.

Yuri was about to say something when he just dropped the subject. He turned toward Kratos, whose ears seemed perked to something. A split second later, Kiryll turned his head around, hearing a faint step in the grass. Jade and Zelos heard the sounds too, and jumped to the defense. Not knowing what was going on, Yuri grabbed his blade as well, feeling the hair at the back of his neck stand up.

_Who's there???_ Yuri thought. _Hunters?_

"Eh? Who's there?" A voice rang out. "Kiryll? Oh, thank god!"

He was about to question when he saw Arche and Stahn tumble out of the bushes. Everyone lowered their guard as the two bumbling warriors quickly stood up and hid back into the bushes, tempting Kiryll to do the same while the others just stared.

"_What's going on?"_ He whispered, feeling that there's a sense of security needed.

"_We got a major problem!"_ Stahn shivered. _"It's about Astrid."_

"_She got kidnapped!"_ Arche pointed in.

"Uh…guys?" Yuri stared at them. "We can still see you, you know."

**------**

"Astrid? Really?" Jade blinked.

"I know! It was around that time that Kiryll got that summon by the king." Stahn stated. "Some Hunters came out of nowhere and took Astrid right next to us! They were really strong too! Took out most of us…"

"Lloyd warned us that there might be some ranches still running well, so the forces all split up." Arche rolled her elbow. "And of you guys seen Astrid yet?"

"Not yet." Kiryll looked around. "But security looks down."

"Right." Yuri slammed his fists together. "We're going in."

"Wait." Zelos lifted his hand. "We can't go in yet."

"Why not?" Kiryll asked. "We can easily bypass security without tripping any alarms."

"It's not just that. The guards out here are most definitely products of someone's Cruxis." He turned to the monsters. "If we just charge in there, we might all end up in the same position as Astrid…or worse."

"But we can't just leave her in there!" Stahn panicked.

"I got this." Arche walked to Zelos. "It should be noted that Astrid is a lovely young woman with-"

"Did…" Zelos paused. "You say…a woman?"

"YOUNG woman." Arche pointed out. "I mean, she's really nice and does cooking, not to mention that she's extremely hot. But I guess we can take our time, bypassing security as she shivers cold and alone in a jail cell and goes through extreme torture while she cries out for a death that wouldn't be granted quick enough…but that's a small detail set for another time."

"_**NOT TO WORRY!"**_ Zelos suddenly jumped onto a nearby rock. "Dear Astrid, please hold onto life for just a few minutes longer. For dear old **ZELOS WILDER** will come and save you from your cage of sorrows! Come men! To battle!"

Everyone watched as Zelos charged into the gates, leaving Kratos and Jade dashing after the redhead and the others to stare and wonder just what the heck happened. Kiryll turned toward Arche, who had a strange grin on her face.

"Were you planning that?" Stahn asked her.

"Up to where he jumped on the rock." She answered. "At least we can get in now."

"Where?" Yuri turned to them. "Our only escort just got into one of those weird knight-in-shining-armor rants."

That's when they realized that the only map and escort that they have in this mission was already gone with Jade and Kratos. Kiryll sighed, an innocent smile on his face that caught all of their eyes.

"We'll just have to deal with the situation at hand." He answered. "It shouldn't be too hard to find out where they keep the prisoners."

"Hope not." Stahn sighed. "I don't think we could deal with rows and rows of guards."

They all nodded and charged into the gates, deciding to see if they could follow the wreckages left by Zelos. Turns out that the guards were quick to replace their troops, so the group had to fight them all off. After dropping into the nearby door, Yuri was quick to lock it behind them.

_**--- SKIT: A Small Recap ---**_

"_Hey, uh…Arche?"_

"_Yeah, Kiryll?" She blinked. "What's wrong?"_

"_Something just crossed my mind." He folded his arms. "Zelos…is that a good example of a 'pimp'?"_

"_Not really. He's close, but he's more of a 'womanizer' than a pimp." Arche explained._

"_Aren't they the same?"_

"_You don't know what a pimp is?" Yuri laughed. "And here you have such a vast variety of knowledge, and yet you don't know normal human lingo?"_

"_I…guess it's affected with my amnesia?" Kiryll sighed._

"_No…I don't think that knowledge could be affected." Yuri sighed. "To prove my point, care to fill us in with the philosophy of how a human soul is created?"_

"_Oh, that's easy." Kiryll answered with a smile. "It all has to do with the consistency of mana consumption of a human soul created by Genesis, factored in with the amounts of fonons that are applied with the given mana, named by the scientists that discovered it in the continent of Niddhog. The vast fonon limits that are given to a human soul shape everything from it, from how the person thinks to how they even think. Like the sixth fonon scientifically classified as 'Rem', which factors blond hair and blue eyes, which has a vast effect on the amount of knowledge that the person could comprehend, factored by the first fonon, known as 'Shadow'. Oh, did you know that the first fonon also factors-"_

"_AGH!" Stahn grabbed his head. "We get it! His knowledge isn't affected! Can we just move on now?!"_

_**--- END ---**_

The inside of the building was the total opposite of the outside. It was clean and metallic, almost like it was out of a fiction novel. As they walked slowly through the hallways, they could hear their heels clanking onto the steel.

"Wow…I've never seen anything like this before." Arche looked around.

"Me neither." Kiryll added. "It's as if we entered another world."

"There's thousands of buildings like this." Stahn said, confused. "You I can understand, Arche, since Sylvarant usually doesn't have stuff like this. But Kiryll…I thought you knew everything."

"I guess I don't." He answered. "This is a human ranch…"

"Humans?!" Stahn jumped. "This is where they make Exspheres? God, what are they going to do with Astrid…?"

"Most likely pull out whatever ability she has." Yuri answered. "Remember back at the castle? She had the power to enforce Mystic Artes."

"But why in the world would someone want to do that?" Arche asked. "Only people who have talent with the sword can use them, and even then, it's rarely granted."

"That could be it." Kiryll said. "That ability could allow anyone to use it. Plus, knowing her, she probably has some Magic Artes that people would kill for."

Everyone stared quietly at each other before continuing on the mission. Taking out a few monsters at a time, they rounded over a thousand corners and ascended hundreds of flights of stairs, all while checking out all the rooms they passed, desperate to find Astrid and the others.

_Hold on, Astrid._ Kiryll thought. _We're coming!_

**------**

She found herself waking up in a dark room. The rustle of chains made her dart her head, and she found herself surrounded by test tubes, filled with people with strange crystals on their bodies. They looked nothing like herons. In fact, they didn't seem to have any Key Crests with their crystals.

_Where am I?_

She looked around and saw that there were few people out in the open with chains as well. One of them looked a lot less like a slave than the others. Her hair was in green braids, and looked like a priestess. Astrid moved toward her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. "You don't look like one of them."

"I'm not." She answered. "I just heard a rumor that my friend is in here, and I went to investigate. Well…the only problem is that I'm not really into sneaking in quietly."

"Don't worry, neither am I. The only problem is that I got kidnapped." She laughed. "I'm Astrid. Astrid Rosen."

"Philia. Philia Felice." She answered, smiling. "So…do you have any idea why they wanted you?"

"I…have an idea, but…" Astrid smiled. "Don't worry about it. Knowing Kiryll, he'll get us out of here!"

"Kiryll? You know him?"

They both turned to see a young man looking at them. He had blue hair in a braid, and was a little tanned, but shiny blue eyes were staring at them. A crystal was embedded in his stomach, strange symbols shaped around it like it was a Key Crest.

"You…you're from my…" Astrid gasped.

"Garr?" Philia jumped. "Oh my god, you are here."

"I'm not him." He looked at them. "My name is Veigue."

**------**

**And that's the end of Chapter 12! Yeah, major stuff going on. But the big one is the introduction of SKITS! Yeah, I would've included them sooner, but I had no idea how to actually get them in. If enough people request it, I'll add a small spin-off story with those earlier skits included. It'll be under a different title, so just to let you know.**

**And if Philia is in this chapter, take a long guess on who's coming up…^_^**


	14. Veigue Memories

**So, with the introduction of skits and Philia and Veigue, Kiryll and his companions continue to dive in closer to the truth in hopes of finding Astrid. But how does Veigue know him? Is Kiryll really…?**

**Oh yeah, for those of you who got confused, yes, in this story, Veigue is a replica. Guess of who.**

**------**

"_Why…am I created? Why am I here?"_

_He only knew that he was floating in total darkness. He couldn't feel anything, not even his own arms holding his shivering body. But what he ended up noticing was that there was a light in front of him. It was then that he learned that he had eyes, otherwise how would he see this._

"_You were created for a purpose." The light answered. "For the thing on your stomach."_

_He looked at his stomach, and realized that there was something on it. It was a jewel of some sorts, blue and shining in the darkness, illuminating his form. It was then that he realized that he had a body, a person, a figure. He looked to the light, and realized that it was forming a figure as well._

"_I'm created…just to get this?"_

"_That is your purpose." The figure answered. "But you don't have to resign yourself to this."_

"…_Who are you?"_

"…" _The figure smiled. "Kiryll."_

**------**

"You know Kiryll?" Astrid asked.

"A little." Veigue answered. "He talked to me in my dreams, assuring me that he'll come to get me out of this hellhole. He called himself Kiryll."

"So you do know him. That's great!" She smiled. "He's suffering from amnesia, so you might be able to help him!"

"I…I don't know anything about him, other than the fact that we were able to talk telepathically." Veigue tried to reason.

"That's not a big concern." Astrid laughed. "Every bit counts."

They all stared at each other as the seconds ticked passed them. They heard the door open, and people started to swarm into the room. They jumped as one of them grabbed Astrid's shoulder and hoisted her up.

"So…this is the White Witch, huh?" He laughed. "Thank god. We could use an ability like this."

"The White Witch?!" Philia looked at Astrid. "You…"

Astrid didn't say anything. She could only respond as she was hoisted away from the two of them and dragged out of the room. Veigue looked at the priestess, who slowly slipped back into a sitting position.

"White Witch?" Veigue answered. "Who's that?"

"There are only rumors on her." Philia answered, looking down. "Like how she has the ability to look into the past. People fear her for the countless secrets that she can expose…"

"Blackmail…" Veigue bit his lip. "You think Astrid's her?"

"What are they going to do with her?" Philia looked at the door.

**------**

They continued to slash through the security.

The monsters were starting to swarm higher and higher into the security room. As they attacked faster and faster, they all began to wonder what was going to happen. Slowly, they wondered if they were close to where Astrid would be.

"Astrid would be in the deepest part of security, right?" Arche flew around.

"Most likely. No use having the biggest prize in the world being near the doorway, huh?" Yuri ran in front of them.

"Yeah. It's like Bad Guys 101." Stahn laughed.

"But…hm…"

Everyone turned toward Kiryll, who had stopped running and was now looking at a door next to him. That's when they heard it: a strange grunting and mumbling sound on the other side. Without even beginning to try it out, he kicked the door open. They flooded into the room, seeing a young woman trapped in a gigantic aqua orb on the other side of the room.

"Rutee?!" Stahn jumped. "What the heck are you doing here?!"

"Me? What the heck are you doing here?!" The girl answered. "And who the heck are you guys?!"

"Um…" Kiryll shrugged. "Escort service?"

"No, we're not." Arche jumped. "We're here on a rescue service!"

"And since it looks like you're stuck in something, hell, we'll start with you." Yuri shrugged. "Shouldn't be too hard. Look, there's the button."

Kiryll watched as Yuri stood back and grinned as Stahn and Arche walked in front of them, going to deprogram the trap. Suddenly, water orbs came from the ground, catching the both of them. They all glared at Yuri, who was only staring at them.

"All your fault." He answered.

"Hey, you're the one without giving us a warning!" Arche grumbled.

"Thought you were smarter!" Yuri laughed.

They all started to grumble and throw random insults at Yuri, who was only laughing at their state. After a few minutes, Yuri turned to Kiryll, who had been spazzing out for a couple of seconds.

"Speaking of which, any plans Kiryll?" He asked. "I don't think walking to the button is going to work."

"Maybe a projectile?" Kiryll looked at him. "It'll save the time for us to walk there."

"You have a weapon in mind?"

Kiryll stared at his cross, knowing that a scythe is not going to help in this situation. Closing his eyes, he dug deep into his memories _(whatever was left, of course)_, hoping that he could find a clue on what to do.

**------**

"_Kiryll? That's your name?"_

"_Yes…it is. Do you have a name?"_

"…_No." The figure in front of him shook his head. "I don't have a name."_

_He felt himself laughing at what he had said. The man in front of him stared as Kiryll lifted his hand in the air. Out from his hands, tarot cards started to fly into the dark and empty air, much to the man's amusement._

"_Do you know anything about fortune telling?" He found himself asking._

"_No…" The man answered. "What is that?"_

"_It's a belief used by the humans. It states that by using ordinary objects, such as cards or stars, they can tell the future." He saw the tarot cards align themselves up to twenty-two cards. "Go ahead. Pick one."_

_The man brushed aside the blue hair from his eyes and reached out, taking one card. He flipped it, revealing a picture of scales._

"_Justice. Nice choice." Kiryll laughed. "The ideas and beliefs that are associated with the act of giving consequences that are appropriate and equal with the actions a person does. Of course, the only problem with justice is that no two views are the same."_

"_What do you mean?" The man asked._

"_It means that two people can contradict each other on what they will do when it comes to giving out judgment, since each action is final." He turned. "The line between justice and revenge is vague…as unclear as the purpose of life itself…"_

"_Vague…just like the meaning of my life." The man held his head._

"_That's a good start." He found himself smiling. "Veigue. Just that…it's a great name."_

"_You want my name to be an adjective?"_

"_It's a start…until you finally find the path and name that you're willing to take."_

**-----**

He was instantly confused on what he remembered. Looking up, he remembered that everyone was still in the orb trap, and Yuri was staring at him, hoping that he would get a nice idea off the top of his head. It was then that he finally got one. He put his hand over the box at his side, and felt a card shoot up into his hand. Lifting it, he saw that it was the Lovers tarot card, but it didn't hold a Persona. He went to reach his cross, and saw that they both fused. Instead of showing the scythe, however, it turned into a golden bow.

"Whoa…" Stahn stared.

"That's a start." Yuri answered.

Kiryll turned toward the button a few feet away, and pulled on the string. Instantly, the bow began glowing, and a fire arrow came out of nowhere. Aiming toward the button, he instantly fired, landing it perfectly on the trap. It deactivated everything as predicted, and the victims were released.

"Thanks, man." Stahn rolled his shoulders. "It was getting crowded in there."

"Wow, Kiryll. That's a new technique." Arche stared at him. "How'd you do that?"

"I just…did it." He stared at the bow in his hand. "I wish I knew how."

"Well, that's enough of that for now." Yuri folded his arms. "We'll think of that later. For now, we have to look for Astrid."

"Hey, you're looking for someone?" The girl walked toward them. "What a coincidence. I'm looking for someone too."

"Don't tell me you've gone treasure hunting again, Rutee." Stahn sighed.

"No, not this time." She complained. "A friend of mine got kidnapped here and I'm on a rescue mission. HEY! While we're here, why not team up? We might be able to get what we both want!"

"Don't see a big problem with that." Kiryll answered. "You're in."

"Just don't get caught in a trap, Rutee." Stahn said.

"I won't! I won't!" She answered. "Geez!"

_**--- SKIT: Rutee Katrea ---**_

"_By the way…" Kiryll looked at her. "We never really got a proper introduction. I'm Kiryll Nightroad."_

"_I'm Rutee. Rutee Katrea." She winked. "I'm a treasure hunter, as you already know from Stahn."_

"_Yeah, exactly." Stahn sighed. "Always falling into trap after trap…"_

"_HEY! It's not all the time!" Rutee grumbled. "I learn, you know!"_

"_Not all the time." Stahn sighed again._

"_Well, whatever. Treasure hunter or not, it really doesn't bother us." Yuri looked at her. "What I want to know is whether or not you're a Hunter."_

"_Hunter? No way!" Rutee folded her arms. "I considered it once, but it was way too hard for me to do. Besides, treasures have a tendency to stay in place, unlike herons."_

"_That's good to hear." Yuri said. "Cause we're going to have some major issues if you were."_

"_What? You're pro-heron, I guess?" Rutee asked._

"_Yeah, of course we are." Yuri answered, looking toward the others as of the spread a hint._

"_It's fine. Besides, I find your cross a lot more interesting than Cruxis Crystals." Rutee grinned at Kiryll. "That is the Cross of Sacred Light, right? Seriously, how much are you calling it for? I'll pay any price!"_

"_Uh…I'm not selling it, really." Kiryll backed up._

"_Aw, come on!" Rutee grumbled. "I'll pay double the price!"_

"_Seriously…this is the only weapon I have!" Kiryll backed up even more._

"_You can get more weapons with the money that you'll get!" Rutee whined. "Come on, please!"_

"_Rutee, the cross only turns into those weapons in Kiryll's hands." Stahn said. "For you, it's just a cross."_

"_What?!" She whined. "No!"_

"_And with that being said, another dream is lost." Yuri shrugged._

_**--- END ---**_

They continued on their way. With the trap being deactivated, the security had all but doubled up. Fortunately, Rutee had some decent battle and healing skills, making a nice addition to the attacking party. After jumping through different rooms, they finally found one with promise: a locked door.

"Hey, Kiryll. Any chance that your cross can turn into a key?" Arche asked.

"Arche, I don't think it could turn to EVERYTHING, you know." Yuri said.

"Besides, think about it! If it could, then the key would have to be a weapon, right?" Stahn laughed. "Hahaha, a key held like a blade! A Key-Blade! Oh, that's a laugh!"

Kiryll just stared at them, wondering what exactly to say to that. He turned back to the lock, and banged really hard on it. It clicked open, something that no one was really expecting. As they pushed the door open, they saw tubes of people lining up a hallway to the other side of the room.

"Holy…!" Rutee cringed. "She's really HERE?!"

"Astrid!" Kiryll looked around. "Are you here?! Say something if you are!"

"Astrid's not here!" A female voice called out. "They took her out of here a few hours ago!"

Everyone turned to the source of the voice, seeing two people staring through the side of one of the tubes _(the only empty one, in fact)_. One was of a green-haired girl in flowing priestess robes. And the other one was a blue-haired guy that looked oddly familiar to him.

"Philia!" Rutee ran to her. "Thank goodness you're OK!"

"I'm fine. They didn't do anything to me yet." She stood up from the chains. "They did take my Swordian, though."

***Ear Twitch***

"They did!? That's not good!" Rutee said. "Swordians have a lot of power, you know!"

"There's something worse, too." Philia cringed. "They have the White Witch too."

"The…?" Rutee paused.

"White Witch?" Yuri stepped forward. "Are you talking about Astrid?"

"White Witch?" Kiryll turned to them. "Who's that?"

"It's only a rumor, cause it was what they called her." Philia said. "But there's a good chance that she's her."

"Who's the White Witch?" Kiryll asked again.

"A magician that has the power of the seventh fonon." Arche turned to him. "But it's affected by the first fonon so much that she can only see into the past, not the future. The past holds a lot of secrets, you know."

"Like a blackmail."

The blue-haired man stood up, catching Kiryll's eyes. They stared at each other, and they both recognized each other, much to the confusion and shock of the bystanders that stood nearby.

"Veigue…" Kiryll froze.

"You do remember me." He answered. "The girl said you didn't."

"I just did…a few minutes ago." Kiryll blinked. "It's one of the few memories that I have."

"I see." Veigue rubbed his wrists. "That means that what she said is true then."

"OK, enough of the angst!" Arche clapped. "We still have Astrid to worry about, here!"

"And the Swordians." Philia said. "Knowing them, they might try to put the White Witch's power and Clemente into an Exsphere."

"But they would need Dymlos's power to do that." Rutee said. "He's the only Swordian with the fire hot enough to separate powers."

"They might have Dymlos!" Philia said. "That's what I'm worried about!"

"Well, then, there's nothing to worry about then!"

Everyone stared at Stahn, who pulled his blade out of the hilt, revealing Dymlos. Philia stared at it, and Kiryll heard it pulse, saying something that he couldn't catch, which slowly placed her at ease.

"Thank goodness." She sighed. "And you are…?"

"Stahn Aileron." He answered. "We're the rescue squad."

"Rescue Squad #2." Yuri said. "Some other guys ran around here a few minutes ago."

"We didn't hear anyone." Veigue said.

"That's…never a good sign." Yuri said. "We better move out, then."

"Yeah…" Kiryll turned to the door. "We better."

**------**

**Eheheh…Key-blade. Who would've known.**

**YAY FOR VACATIONS THAT ALLOW EASY UPDATES!**


	15. The Mechanical Rose

**With Philia and Veigue at their side, Kiryll continues to find Astrid, who is trapped somewhere in the deeper parts of the factory. Can they be able to find her before the men do away with her?**

**------**

Despite the huge mob of people they were running around with, they were oddly quiet while heading through the halls. Maybe it was because Veigue and Rutee were used to this, but he never expected this out of Philia, being a priestess and all.

Heading through the alleys and avoiding more guards, they ran on their way, wondering where the other guys might've gone. There weren't any hints that they were anywhere, not even a dead guard or something. It led them to wonder whether or not they were lost.

_**--- SKIT: The White Witch ---**_

"_The White Witch…" Kiryll turned to the newcomers. "Besides having access to the past, how much more of a danger is she?"_

"_She's a danger, all right." Rutee said. "I heard that she has access to crazy amounts of Magic Artes that not even half-elves or herons have. They call her the White Witch because you can literally see the moonlight bounce off her hair when she's out in the open."_

"_Well, then that doesn't mean much." Kiryll ruffled his hair. "My hair's the same color as her's. I'm surprised that you didn't mistake me for her."_

"_We're not dumb. We can tell who's a guy or not." Rutee stated. "No, I mean __**pure**__ white. You just shine silver."_

"_Uh…thanks?" Kiryll blinked._

"_Wait…is that it?" Stahn looked disappointed. "She has magical powers and white hair…come on, is there anything a little more interesting than an impressive mercenary resume?"_

"_Rumors say that she's possessed." Philia said. "Some say that the spirit is evil and is only using her to achieve its personal goals. Others say that the spirit is stealing other people's souls to convert them to mana for her spells."_

"_OK. Got the point. Now come on, drop it and let's go find Astrid."_

_**--- END ---**_

She found herself chained to a table. Looking around, she saw a huge sword standing next to her table, hanging on the wall and dangling in a little pool of light. She was surrounded by strange people, possibly scientists, and there was another person chained up on a table just a few feet away from her. It was a blond woman in a magenta dress, lowered enough to reveal a shining Cruxis Crystal on her.

"Oh, look at that. The Witch is awake."

She looked up and saw a figure looming over her. She couldn't see his face, but she knew that it was an older figure, maybe past his late thirties, sitting in a moving chair. Biting her lip, she could literally feel herself shivering in fear as the figure stand up and walk to the girl next to her.

"You got the wrong girl, morons." The man growled. "I was looking for the Merines, fellas. This isn't her!"

"It was a blond girl with heron powers!" One of the men answered. "That was the closest thing that we got to her onboard the Legacy!"

"Geez…ask too much from these guys…" The man turned back to the girl. "Still, she's a heron. I guess we can work on her. Please tell me that you at least got the Wild Card, at least!"

"Wild…Card?" The men looked at each other. "But you said the White Witch!"

"White Witch?! No, I said WILD CARD! Are you men deaf?!" The strange man growled. "Geez, you make me look bad, men!"

His nose began to run, so he quickly wiped it away as he walked toward Astrid, which made her cringe. He tapped her chest in an area where there would be a Cruxis Crystal, and noticed that there was nothing there. He stared back at her, and she could see his face.

"D-Dist…the Reaper…" She panicked.

"It's the Rose!" He growled. "Dist the Rose!"

"…T-the Rose…?" She ignored her confusion. "You're a God General…"

"You're catching on." He laughed. "One of the many in this world…but you already know that, Astrid Rosen, the White Witch of Dyne."

"I'm…I'm just Astrid…" She panicked.

"Oh, but you are so much more than that." He walked away from her. "You see, you hold so much of the Seventh Fonon that we God Generals seek! I mean, your power can make me more powerful than, let's say, Largo the Black Lion, or…hm…that new branch…that Zagi the Shadow…brrr, I never liked him."

"God…Generals…" Astrid shivered. _Wait…Wild Card? Oh my god, are they after Kiryll?!_

"But the one I wanted was the Wild Card…hm…what a pickle…" Dist fell back onto his chair. "I guess we can wait till later, since _**we didn't get the Merines!"**_

"We-we're sorry, General Dist!" The men bowed in panic.

"God, what am I going to do with you men…"

**------**

"Wait…what's this?"

Everyone stopped and stared as Stahn picked up something from the ground. It was a gear, small enough for him to hold in his palm, yet it had a strange carving on it. He squinted at it for a few seconds before turning back to the others.

"It's a rose?" He answered.

"A…rose?" Kiryll blinked.

"Oh GOD." Arche panicked. "A gear with a rose carving? Oh great, don't tell me we're dealing with _**HIM!"**_

"With…who?"

No one had to say anything before something came up from behind them. They all turned to see that five huge machines had come out from nowhere and lunge toward them. Everyone went up and prepared to counter when a quick flash of red and pink dashed through them.

"_**Majinken Sounga!"**_

The blur went rapidly, and the five machines went down before anyone had a chance to blink. Kiryll laughed out loud at everyone's shocked faces, and they turned to see that Jade and Kratos had followed up closely behind. The figure stopped and turned in a majestic way that seemed to sparkle the air.

"Geez, you sure took your time!" Kiryll laughed.

"Don't blame us." Kratos sighed. "Zelos here got us lost."

"Aw come on. At least you're alive!" He eyed Philia. "Hello."

Before anyone could even bother to move into place, Zelos was already there. He had kissed Philia's hand and bowed to her, making her stare in confusion at what this guy was doing to her, the others staring.

"And what might your name be, mademoiselle?" He asked.

"Uh…" She blinked. "I-it's Philia."

"Ah. A priestess, I see?" He straightened himself. "Well, we share a lot in common. You see, I serve a god as well, the god that rules over the Tethe'alla kingdom. It must be the wills of both of our gods that we should meet."

"Uh…well…I guess so?" Philia blinked in shock.

"Don't worry, dear priestess." Zelos laughed softly. "The gods protect all who serve them. No one will harm you as long as I am alive."

"Okay then." Yuri smiled.

***BAM!***

"Problem's over."

No one bothered to say anything after that. The only problem was that someone had to be in charge of him. After a few minutes of janken, it fell on Stahn. So the poor blond was dragging him around as they headed deeper into the human ranch.

"Oh yeah, speaking of which." Stahn blinked. "Arche, you said that you thought you knew who we're up against."

"Did I?" She asked.

"Yeah." He answered. "You know, the rose gear?"

"Rose gear?" Jade sighed. "Dist…oh great."

"Dist?" Kiryll blinked. "Who's he?"

"Wait…as of Dist the Reaper?" Yuri stared at him. "What's a God General doing here?"

"God…General?" Kiryll strained his thoughts to pull out something. "Like…an army?"

"It's more than just an army." Kratos walked in front of him. "They were supposed to be six knights chosen to run the Order of Pentagrams in Niddhog, but now it's been spread around the entire globe. It's now a title held by any individual chosen by the Grand Master to be in the God army."

"Order of…Pentagrams?" Kiryll blinked.

"It's a church…supporting the return of the Sacred Pentagram and the Descender that they choose that will protect them in time of need. Only the ones who work for it call it by its proper name. Everyone else just calls it the Star Order." Kratos answered. "Its main branch goes down to Niddhog, where the original leader of the Pentagram was said to have descended onto the world."

"Wow…so the God Generals are like an army for those herons?" He asked.

"Not in this sense." Veigue suddenly answered. "Recently, they decided to appoint a leader for the God Generals. They're using him as their leader now."

"So…there's a head honcho now…" Stahn froze. "Wait, how'd you know that?! You were stuck here this entire time!"

"I listen around." Veigue answered. "The men around here know a lot about gossiping."

"That's interesting, men gossiping." Arche laughed.

"What, you don't believe that men can talk amongst themselves?" Stahn laughed.

"No. No I don't."

_**--- SKIT: The God Generals ---**_

"_So…Jade." Kiryll blinked. "About these God Generals…how many of them are there, anyway?"_

"_Hm…I don't know the exact number. They keep rising." Jade sighed. "Though I have to admit, I preferred the original six. What is Mohs thinking…?"_

"_Grand Master Mohs?" Yuri blinked. "Oh yeah, the leader of the Malkuth branch of the Star Order. Is he the leader of the entire God General order?"_

"_No, that title falls on Van, the descendant of one of the founders of the Order." Jade answered. "Van the Noble is his full title."_

"_Wait…the main six of them…who are they?" Kiryll blinked. "So I know who to look out for."_

"_Let me think." Stahn lifted his finger. "There's Sync the Tempest, Legretta the Quick, Arietta the Wild, Largo the Black Lion, Dist the Reaper and…what's-his-name, the Bloody…"_

"_It's Asch, genius." Rutee grumbled. "And when did you know all of this?"_

"_I ran into Legretta once." Stahn answered. "She saved my hide during one of my solo missions. She's awesome!"_

"_Well, you had to get your butt saved. No wonder you were happy." Yuri sighed._

"_Shut up." Stahn grumbled. "I was being attacked by Goetia the Forgotten. He really seemed to hate my blade for some reason."_

"_Goetia?" Philia blinked. "Yeah, I think I had a run-in with him too."_

"_These God Generals…" Kiryll looked away. "To think that the Sacred Pentagram is stronger than all of them…"_

_**--- END ---**_

The God General named Dist had left with the guards, leaving her alone with the girl. She turned to her, and notice that she had bright blue eyes and a simple magenta dress, making her blue Cruxis Crystal stick out even more.

"Are you OK?" She asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." She answered. "But…you're the White Witch, aren't you?"

"I…I prefer the name Astrid." She smiled. "And I won't harm you. Besides, these chains here won't let me, even if I tried."

"O-oh…" She seemed to calm down.

"I'm Astrid, by the way. Astrid Rosen." She told her.

"Claire." She answered. "Bennett."

"Claire." Astrid nodded. "I like your name. It's a lot simpler than mine."

"But Astrid…it's a lot nicer than mine." Claire seemed to calm down a lot. "If you don't mind me asking…do you know why we're here?"

"Um…no…" Astrid thought. "But from what Dist said, it's all because of misunderstandings. We weren't the first choice, and they were after someone else."

"It seemed like that…from what he was saying." Claire stared at Astrid. "But…do you know what he meant by Wild Card?"

"Huh? Uh…" Astrid racked her brain for answers. "N-no…I'm sorry. It's the first time I've heard of it." _I can't tell her. She'll just get dragged into this even more than she has to be._

Claire looked at Astrid intently before ignoring it and turning back to the table in front of her. She turned to the table again and noticed that the sword on the table was still there. It seemed similar to that of Dymlos, so she wondered if that was a Swordian as well.

_A Swordian…_ Astrid thought. _It's stuff like this that makes me wish that Stahn was here…_

The shackles were squeezing at her wrists and ankles, both meant to restrain her magic and movements. Claire, across from her, didn't seem to be in any rush to leave. She probably already knew that she couldn't leave if she tried.

_Hm…_ She looked around. _I have to get out of here and meet up with Kiryll. Where to start…_

**------**

After a few more running around with the local guards and taking out some monsters, they found themselves in a large room with high walls and a railing for people who bother to walk up there. With the lack of doors in the room, Kiryll couldn't help but think it was a dead end.

"There you are! Guess getting that White Witch was a good idea after all!"

Looking up, they saw a strange man sitting and a levitating throne. There were machines around him, serving as bodyguards, and they were all staring straight at Kiryll. He couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"Welcome, Wild Card!" He laughed. "I believe you're after the White Witch, am I correct?"

"…Dist." Kiryll blinked.

"Well well, if it isn't Dist the Runny." Jade grinned.

"The ROSE. R-O-S-E! Rose!" Dist grumbled. "You never were one to show respect."

"Gee, I wonder why." Yuri sighed.

"Hey, how about a trade? Most people do that, right?" Dist laughed. "Give me the Wild Card and I'll give you the White Witch."

Kiryll stared at the man in front of him. Was he hearing this man right? He was going to trade Astrid for his cooperation on whatever the heck was going to happen to him? He glared at Dist. _I still have time. Everyone else here will be able to save her. I don't have to accept this._

"_**Now, we can't have that, can we?"**_

He froze. _Who are you?_

"_**Would this girl really be saved by these humans if you refuse the offer? C'mon, think hard about this."**_

_Whoever you are, leave me alone. I have faith in these 'humans', just so you know._

"_**You really shouldn't. This man isn't really one for trustable bargains. He is a God General, of course. Someone that will be a valuable ally to us."**_

_So you're saying that I have to give in to his demands? I'm not doing it._

"_**That's something that I can't let happen."**_

Kiryll was about to question what this voice was going to do to him when he heard a familiar sound. Once he heard it, he felt his brain shut down and he felt himself cave into his mind. Before it happened, he realized that the sound was one of a Persona card shattering.

**------**

"So…what is your decision, Wild Card?"

Everyone knew what Kiryll was going to say, and was only waiting for him to voice it. After a few long seconds of him just hanging there, they wondered what was wrong with him. Then, he stood up and stared at them.

_What the heck?_ Yuri blinked. _His eyes…are they black?_

"Kiryll?" Arche walked to him. "You're going to refuse the offer, right?"

He seemed to completely skim over her voice as he walked toward Dist. His wings spread open, revealing another strange altercation to him: his wings had lost most of its white tint and was now an odd yellow.

"I accept your trade." He answered. "God General Dist the Rose."

**------**

**Now that's a plot twist! Can't wait for updates? Well…too bad, I guess.**


	16. Two Sides to Every Being

**So…yeah. The last chapter got your mind wandering into the WTH zone, right? OK, let's see what's going to happen next! Roll the tape!**

**------**

"Kiryll, you're crazy!" Stahn stepped through the group. "You really can't trust this man to actually go through with this bargain!"

"Don't listen to them, Wild Card." Dist laughed. "They're just humans and a meager half-elf. They're nothing compared to your high ranking of heron and my rank as a God General."

"Yes, that's true." Kiryll laughed, a strange deepness to his voice. "A God General is a rank that many people get but not earn."

"What the heck is wrong with Kiryll?" Rutee blinked. "I thought he wasn't going through with this!"

"He wasn't." Jade propped his glasses. "Something else is at work."

"Don't listen to him. He never thinks right." Dist folded his hands. "We should get rid of him."

"How about all of them?" Kiryll grabbed his necklace. "I never really had a liking to the red-head guy with the pink outfit."

Almost instantly, he pulled out his scythe. What was different was that the scythe was silver, not gold. Everyone gasped at the strange change as Kiryll's yellow wings spread over his body and a murderous smile peeled in front of his face.

"Oh damn, he's after me first isn't he?!" Zelos panicked.

"Is he serious?!" Rutee jumped back. "What are we gonna do?"

"Easy: kick his ass until he snaps out of it." Yuri lifted his blade.

"No, no. We don't need that." Jade walked in front of him. "I can handle this."

Everyone stared as Jade continued to walk toward Kiryll, who grinned at this man's crazy thought of actually fighting him. Heck, he was just a human being. If he was a Hunter, he would've had some chance…no, not even a Hunter.

"You're brave to face me alone." Kiryll lifted his arm holding the silver blade. "Hopefully I'm merciful enough to spare your life when you're begging at my feet."

"I don't think that's going to happen."

Before they knew it, clear green wings spread over his back as he summoned his lance and joined Kiryll in a pointing fest. Dist obviously had a plaster of shock all over his face, not to mention the others, who had no idea of his heron blood. But the most shocked was Kiryll.

"You…" He growled. "What the heck are you doing here?! You yourself said that you were never going to step foot on this cursed land!"

"I can say the same for you." Jade grinned. "But that's something for another time. I would like it if you wouldn't interfere in this business."

"Come on. They're the army of the gods. Let them do as they need be. The humans deserve it." Kiryll spun his scythe. "Or are you infatuated with them the same way I am?"

"This conversation's going a little too far. I'm afraid we're going to have to part ways for now."

Before everyone's eyes, Jade charged Kiryll, who threw him off with his scythe. He spun away, only to charge again. Kiryll was rapidly deflecting the attacks, wondering how in the world was he getting so fast.

"_**Moji retsu…katto!"**_

The spear stabbed through Kiryll's head, making everyone scream. Despite what anyone expected, there was no blood. Instead, when Jade pulled out the spear, the silver and the yellow from his scythe and wings faded, revealing their original color. His eyes slowly opened, revealing that they have gotten their yellow tint back.

"Uh…w-what?" He looked up. "What just…?"

"You're fine now." Jade pulled him up. "Don't worry about it now, we have bigger issues to focus on."

"Hey, what about me?!" Dist yelled, completely mad that he was getting ignored now. "What about our bargain?!"

"Yeah, I have something to say about that." Kiryll turned to him. "Sorry, but I'm not doing it."

Dist began to growl to himself and rapidly mess up his hair, obviously wondering why the guy who agreed to cooperate earlier suddenly wants to scrap the idea. But even he had to notice that his wings and his scythe were a different color now.

"God, I liked you better when you had a silver scythe." He grumbled. "Ah well, at least I can take you by FORCE!"

Before their eyes, they saw three huge machines come out of the ground and lunge toward the group. Everyone split up, leaving Kiryll and his group to stare down what could be the biggest one in the group.

"He doesn't seem too bad." Yuri laughed. "Who wants to go first?"

"Oh!" Stahn lifted his hand. "I do, I do!"

He jumped into the air and sliced through the robot without a second thought. Suddenly, the robot formed its own two bodies and continued their assault. Stahn started to panic and quickly ran away as he was being chased.

"_**BAD IDEA BAD IDEA BAD IDEA BAD IDEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"**_

"No duh, Sherlock!!!" Arche flew overhead. "I got this! _**Icicle!"**_

Arche lifted her finger as icicles began to rain over the two separated robots. The ice proved too much for the robots, and everyone watched as they froze in place, unable to move or react to what was going to happen next.

"That isn't going to destroy them entirely!" She jumped into a standing position on her broom. "The ice should be sticking onto their system, so destroying the ice is going to wreak all of their circuits!"

Yuri flipped his sword out as Kiryll pulled out a tarot card from the box on his leg, bearing the Hierophant symbol. Fusing with his necklace, it bore the image of a golden spear with a glowing blade. Rutee couldn't help but turn and look fascinated.

_So that is another form of the cross that Kiryll bears._ She thought. _That is fascinating._

"Yuri?" He looked at him. "You ready?"

"I'm just waiting for you." He answered.

Kiryll couldn't help but laugh at his remark. They charged toward their frozen targets and stabbed through the ice, hearing the satisfaction of shattering it to a million pieces. However, Dist merely smiled at this action.

"Ah, your actions are reasonable, dear half-elf." He laughed. "But did you see this coming?!"

Before their eyes, they saw that the ice had started to reform, creating multiple copies of the robot. They began to shoot at them, hitting Yuri in the knee. He collapsed like a rock as the robots continued to swarm.

"OK, so swarming them with ice is a good idea." Zelos whacked away a few robots and avoided a big one. "But not the ice we have at our disposal?!"

"It's so contradicting that it's really annoying…" Stahn smacked out another one. "Anyone have any really good spells on them?!"

"Jade might!" Kiryll flipped over gunshots in a professional way.

"I wish I could…" He sighed. "But I had a run in with a Fonic Artes seal. That will be hard for me to do with that on me."

"A Fonic Artes seal?" Arche blinked. "What does that mean?!"

"He doesn't have access." Kiryll answered _(quite bluntly)_.

"WHAAAAAT?!" Arche panicked. "Are you kidding me?!"

Before anyone had any time to form any form of alternate answer, they felt the wind around them freeze. Kiryll watched as the air started to freeze into snow, trapping all the robots inside them. They all turned to see that it was Veigue's doing, his stomach glowing with his Exsphere.

"I thought it would be good enough." He answered, grabbing his blade. "Now then…"

"I wanna take a spin at them now." Zelos grinned, grabbing his sword as well. Pink and orange wings erupted from his back.

"Count me in." Kiryll grabbed his spear. "Whatever Dist did to me, I'm making sure it never happens again."

They all lunged into the air, their weapons hanging in their hands. Zelos spun, a swirl of lightning surrounding his blade. The air around Veigue's blade froze to deep temperatures as he spun his in a circle. Kiryll, dead in the middle, shot his spear in the sunlight above him, making it shine so brightly that it made their blades all that brighter and even made them glow.

"Lightning of the heavens, guide my blade!" Zelos aimed his blade at the big robot before him.

"From the depths of the mountains, this ends now!" Veigue aimed his blade at the other one.

"The cross is your salvation…let the beings before us grant mercy on your soul…" Kiryll smiled as his spear held firm in his hands.

"Take this! _**Poseidon…Tsunami!"**_

They all threw their blades at the ice, destroying it and the robots within them. What ended up happening after was that the floor became wet, an after effect from the Fusion Attack. They all dropped onto the ground as Dist began to grumble on his loss.

"This is crazy! Those robots were MY creation! There was no way you could beat them!"

"Hey, those guys bashed your robots in good!" Rutee argued. "Just get it in your heads!"

"I won't accept this!"

He stood up in his chair as three more robots came from behind him and charged toward the group. Kiryll was about to counter when he heard chanting from behind him. It was a familiar voice, one that made him sigh with relief.

"_**Thunder Arrow!"**_

From behind, Astrid and a strange girl with blond hair shot into the air, the girl bearing magenta wings. The girl began to chant something in a foreign tongue that Kiryll couldn't identify as Astrid aimed her staff. Immediately, over a thousand arrows shot from her staff, destroying the robots. Dist gasped as the robots exploded in the air.

"The White Witch?! How did you get out?!" He asked.

"I…don't know." She blinked in realization. "Claire was chanting something while I was thinking of a spell and…"

"Ah, I see." Jade grinned. "The **'Intensify'** ability, allowing the user to increase and decrease the effectiveness of spells and attacks. All from a girl such as her…"

"Similar to an Exsphere?!" Dist grinned. "Interesting! I must have her! Get her and the Wild Card!"

As the soldiers began to charge toward them, Claire began to chant again in her tongue to decrease their attack effects. Zelos was about to do something when he heard something behind the group. His crystal pulsed and he felt a strange coldness, as if the being he sensed held no emotion or fear.

"_**Ivy Rush!"**_

Dist watched as vines came from the ground and pinned the soldiers down. He avoided the vines of his own as he jumped onto his floating seat and slowly floated through the hole in the ceiling.

"You might've gotten me this time, Wild Card! But rest assure that you haven't seen the last of me!"

_That's fine._ He thought. _We'll get you as many times as we have to._

The same vines came from the ground and grabbed Astrid and Veigue. Everyone jumped as soldiers came out of nowhere and grabbed the soldiers in the ivy and surrounded the others. From the mob came a young man with a blue suit and a pink cape, something that made Kiryll question his fashion sense a little. He ignored him and instead focused on Astrid and Veigue.

"So he's the replica of Prince Garr, is he?" One of the soldiers asked.

"They hold the same appearance, yet from what we saw from the fighting share none of the same experience." The man said. "Something that no one can replicate."

"And this girl…" The other one grinned. "This is the dangerous White Witch, isn't she?"

"This is her." The man looked. "That Thunder Arrow was something only she can do. Even I can't use a spell as intense as that."

"No, you got it wrong!" The girl named Claire stepped in. "That spell was only intense because of-"

The soldiers swarmed in around the group, making everyone back up against each other. The man turned and eyed Rutee, making him sigh and ignore her. Instead, he turned and focused at Kiryll, who seemed to have caught and held his attention.

"So you must be the one that Dist there was talking about. The **'Wild Card'**, am I correct?" He stood unwavered. "Why would a heron with powers as strong as yours walk on human soil? Here I thought that you would at least suppress your power."

"I love to answer your question, but unfortunately I'm not too sure myself." Kiryll answered.

"No problem." He lifted his hand and touched Kiryll's forehead. "I much rather figure it out myself."

The man's collar moved away, revealing a Cruxis Crystal. Barely had Kiryll realized his true form when he felt a sharp pain enter his mind. His brain began to scramble as something became to dig into his consciousness for memories that he himself did not have.

_**------**_

_It was a simple street. The people were stepping through, ready to start the day and buy the food needed to feed their families back at home. Through the crowds, a man began to walk around. He had long, dark red hair that covered his eyes and a simple black and white robe as he watched all of the people go about their lives._

"_I never thought that you would be interested in something like this."_

_He blinked as he turned his head to a figure next to him. It was a girl in a simple maid outfit and pretty eyes, holding a fruit basket. She didn't seem intimidated by this man's appearance, making him realize who she truly was._

"_I never thought that you would follow me this far."_

"_Someone had to watch over you while you're on the human surface." She answered. "They decided that I was the one with at least the hint of human curiosity, so I was chosen to accompany you."_

"_Who asked? The others?"_

"_Most of them, yes. I thought that Altamir would volunteer, but he said that he'd rather watch from where he was instead of experiencing it himself."_

"_That's Altamir…" The man shook his head._

_**------**_

"Leon, that's enough!" Kratos stepped in. "He's telling the truth. Using the **'Mind'** ability at this depth is going to destroy his consciousness!"

"That's the difference between the both of us." He turned to Kratos. "I happen to think that he's lying."

A pulse echoed soon after, throwing everyone back. Everyone watched as Kiryll's body began to glow in the air before it landed on the ground. He didn't seem to be hurt, indicated by the fact that he was still standing and seemed conscious, but…

"Wha…what happened?"

Kiryll touched his mouth. Was his voice higher than usual? It sounded…non-him. He turned toward the crowd, which held a face of shock and confusion on their faces. Except Astrid, who had a whole streak of red on her face. He looked down and realized that his outfit had changed. It was the same jacket and pants, but…

"HOLY CRAP MAN!" Zelos finally voiced it. "What the heck happened to you?!"

Kiryll stared to look around at his body, wondering what the heck had happened to him. His Cruxis Crystal and wings seemed to be the only thing unchanged from whatever the heck that Leon man did to him. After a few minutes of confusion, he stood there and absorbed it all in.

Whatever this Leon man did, it turned Kiryll Nightroad had turned into…

A woman?

**------**

**No, this is not a parody. This actually happened. It's going to be a part of the story, relax. Actually…don't. How the heck are you gonna calm down after this? This shocks even me O.o**


	17. The Hraesvelgr Kingdom

**hatSo…Kiryll Nightroad had turned into a woman. Leon obviously had nothing to do with it, so what the heck happened to him?! Well…you're gonna have to keep reading in order to get anything. **

**------**

With all the confusion about Kiryll's gender-bender and the appearance of the Garr replica and White Witch going around, it ended up that everyone was going to be arrested. He _(well, __she__ now)_ ended up with a cell with her group, while Jade, Kratos and Zelos ended up in another. She didn't see the others, though she believed that they were under interrogation by Leon.

"Are you OK, Kiryll?" Arche asked.

"Despite this problem…" Kiryll shrugged. "I'm alive."

"Dude, what did Leon do to you?" Stahn blinked. "You're…a girl."

"I know…" She stood up and twirled around. "It's weird. Actually, all he actually did was trigger…something."

"Another memory?" Yuri blinked. "What was it?"

"Some small village." She answered. "I was talking to this guy…while I was like this."

"So this actually happened to you before, like this isn't the first time you pulled a gender swap?" Arche stood.

"Maybe…this doesn't feel as awkward as before." She stared at her appearance. "But to tell you the truth, I rather stay a boy."

"Wish I can help you there." Stahn shrugged. "But I'm still in shock and can't really answer you there."

"I have a suggestion." Yuri turned to her. "That power…**'Wild Card'**…it allows you to summon those beings called Persona. Don't those Persona have their own abilities, similar to Cruxis Crystals?"

"…I think so." Kiryll answered.

"Well, I remember that back then that people would have gods that represented everything, from fortune to fertility." Yuri said. "Wouldn't it make sense to find a Persona that represents masculinity or genders?"

"It's worth a try." Kiryll nodded. "I'll give it a go."

She concentrated, digging deep into her memory for something that might help her. They saw as a tarot card suddenly floated in front of her, followed a split second later by a quick shattering. It formed the figure of a strange individual: a human figure that was half male and half female.

"Ardha." She turned to the figure. "The fusion of both the god Shiva and goddess Parvati…the physical image of the balance of masculine and feminine energies."

"OK, enough with the mythology lesson." Stahn blinked. "Will that Persona work?"

Before anyone could answer, Ardha placed his/her hands around Kiryll's eyes. She began to glow along with Ardha, blinding the entire room with soft light. When the light faded Ardha was gone, and Kiryll stood in the middle, back in his male form.

"It works." He answered with a grin on his face.

"Thank god." Arche shivered. "I had a hard time thinking of an excuse to tell the others when they find out that you turned into a girl!"

"Hey, you weren't the only one that was thinking about that." Yuri argued. "Not to mention that you looked pretty good as a girl."

"Really?" Kiryll laughed. "I thought I looked a little like Astrid."

"Well…Astrid doesn't actually look half-bad." Yuri admitted.

"OK, conversation going a little TOO far!" Arche shivered. "Kiryll's masculine again, good enough. Can you try getting us out now?"

"Wish I could. But there's some kind of seal on the wall." Kiryll touched them. "I think it's like a Fonic Artes seal."

"So we can't use magic to blast out." Yuri tapped the side of the walls. "Completely solid. Looks like bashing our way out isn't going to help our case either."

"Damn…this is crazy." Stahn sighed. "We're in the prison of Hraesvelgr…guys, this is where the Swordians are."

"The infamous Swordians?" Arche jumped. "Like Dymlos on your hip?"

"Yeah, like that." He drew his blade. "I really don't know what makes Swordians 'Swordians', and I promised Dymnos that I was going to reunite him with the others, so I thought joining them was the only way that I would be able to fulfill my end of the bargain."

"Swordians…oh yeah, the swords that talk." Yuri looked at Dymlos. "How many of them are there in total? I'm only aware of Chatlier and Atwight."

"There're five in total." Stahn answered. "I don't know those names, but mine's called Dymlos."

"_**That Yuri person…He looks familiar."**_ Dymlos said, a voice that went unanswered.

"So…when are we gonna be in the interrogation room?" Arche asked. "We're in jail, so I figured that we're gonna be in there sooner or later."

"Knowing most of the soldiers, they're gonna think that I left the room now that I'm a male." Kiryll lifted his tarot card. "I better change back."

"You're going back to being a female?" Stahn sighed. "Why? All of the soldiers here know you as a guy. They saw you turn into a girl."

"I think it'll be easier for everyone to see me as a female." Kiryll answered. "Plus, it'll be easier for me to slip away when I have to. If anyone asks, my name is Kyra in this form."

"You thought this out?!" Stahn jumped. "How the heck did you-?!"

He didn't have time to complain when Kyra summoned Ardha and retransformed into a female. Once she was done, soldiers came into the room ready to get the prisoners. Grabbing everyone, they "escorted" them out of the room. As they left, Kyra noticed that for some odd reason, Yuri was left behind. She saw the guards swarm around him as the door slammed behind them.

**------**

"So these are the three of them?"

When the lights flipped back on, Kiryll once again found himself surrounded by a group of soldiers, the man named Leon standing in front of them. Behind him, Astrid was held prisoner, her arms held together by a soldier twice her size. She was still in shock at the fact that Kiryll was a female.

"What did we do?" Arche asked. "Don't tell me that you're in alliance with Dist!"

"Dist the Reaper? Of course not. The kingdom of Hraesvelgr doesn't believe in the Star Order." Leon walked past them. "You're only here because of the White Witch."

"White Witch…" Kyra turned to Astrid. "What exactly did she do?"

"Is it enough to say that she's a danger to this world?" Leon turned to Astrid. "Being the White Witch with a power that surpasses even herons…"

"That was only because of Claire!" Stahn explained. "She has the **'Intensify'** ability which gave Astrid that power…"

"Claire…the blond girl?" Leon stared at Stahn with a disgusted face.

"Sir…" One of the men stepped forward. "The girl said the same thing when we interrogated her."

"So you aren't lying…" Leon shrugged. "No matter. That isn't the only offence that she has done. There's a power that I'm more worried about."

"What could Astrid possibly have that's so powerful?" Arche looked at Stahn and Kyra, the word **PERSONA** rolling through their heads.

"The power…of the Reaper." He answered.

Kyra stared blankly at Stahn and Arche, who both had terrified and shocked looks on their faces. She knew that she didn't have the time to tell them that the reaper was also a Persona. Humans with Persona abilities are among the rarest of rare, she remembered Jade stating.

"Whenever people are dying, she's there." Leon explained. "It's not just here, but it's all over the world. The Order of Swordians are there to protect the people from any form of threats. And the White Witch is one of them."

"You're saying that Astrid is literally draining the life out of everyone she meets?" Kyra asked.

"You might not know it now, but she's draining the life out of you now." Leon answered. "We're only doing you a favor."

Through the briefing, Astrid cringed at the factors that were put against her. Was she really being called a reaper by him? Was she going to be executed like a first class criminal? She knew that what he was saying is way past the truth, but there was no way that she was going to explain it to him and get him to believe her…

"_**Gah!"**_

She froze. Voices were echoing in her ears, and since her hands were bound she couldn't cover them. It was banging against her head.

"_**Dammit…this can't end here…not now! They can't just do this to me…"**_

She bit her lip to prevent herself from screaming. However, her cringing was catching attention. Everyone had stopped the interrogation and was now turning toward the White Witch, which was now near the ground. Out of all the voices, only one was familiar to her…

"_**This is bull…I'm not going to die here! Not in this damn prison cell. And not when…"**_

"You…you liar!" She glared at Leon, startling even Kyra. "You told me that you weren't going to harm them! You weren't going to harm the others!"

"I wasn't." Leon answered, looking confused.

"You liar!" Astrid began to pull herself out of the soldier's grip. "There's someone dying in their prison cell right now! I have to get to him!"

"You have no idea what you're talking about, do you?" Leon said. "I know everything that happens in this castle. You can't lie to me."

"I'm not lying! I have to get to him!" Astrid was pulling even harder. _**"Ray!"**_

A beam of light came from the sky and struck the soldier, knocking him out. Once she was free, she dashed out the door. The others were quick to chase after her, and when Kyra turned as she ran, she couldn't help but notice the soldiers after them.

_This…isn't going to be good._

_**--- SKIT: Where is she going? ---**_

"_Damn, Astrid can run fast!" Stahn said, his feet taking up the pace. "Who the heck is chasing her?!"_

"_Us." Arche answered. "And don't forget the soldiers on our tails!"_

"_OK, let's rephrase that question." Stahn continued. "Where is she heading towards?"_

"_She said that there was someone dying in the prison cells." Kyra stated. "But…how would she know that? Come on, we're two levels above the prison."_

"_Does it have something to do with her powers as the White Witch?" Arche asked._

"_Oh…geez…" Kyra looked at her chest. "How can girls run with this?!"_

"_Don't ask me." Stahn answered. "I can't really answer that for you."_

"_Who said that you have to stay a woman anyway?" Arche growled. "You could've easily turned into a man!"_

"_Well, I would but…" She turned to the soldiers. "Now's not a good time to do so."_

_**--- END ---**_

It was a while, but Astrid was able to get back to the prison cells. As Kyra was catching up, she noticed that halfway through her run, she cringed and almost fell over. Before she could go to help her, she threw herself back on her feet and continued to run. Suddenly, she stopped in front of a prison door.

"Wait…" Stahn looked at it. "That's our prison cell."

"I hear something on the other side." Arche blinked. "There's fighting in there!"

Astrid threw open the doors, revealing that the prison walls had caved in, and dying soldiers on the ground. Backing up, she saw that there were wolves that were knocking them to the ground, and were now setting their sights on Yuri, who was bloody and against the wall.

"Yuri!" Astrid panicked.

_So someone was attacking the guards…_ Kyra turned to Astrid. _How did she...?_

She was busy healing Yuri's wounds, not noticing what was going on around her. Kyra pulled out her Lovers tarot card and summoned her bow, shooting down two wolves with two quick sessions of her arrows.

"No one steps to Astrid!" She declared to the wolves.

"_**Rekkuuzan!"**_

Stahn threw a wolf into the air and drove him down, leaving Arche to throw a few Energy Blasts around. She ducked a wolf's attack as Kyra shot him away. She went to attack when she saw Leon dash passed her and take down a wolf that was after Astrid.

"Thanks." She answered.

"Don't thank me." Leon sheathed his blade. "She's saving my men."

"_**Don't be so harsh on her, Leon. She's doing you a favor."**_

Kyra stared at Leon's blade. _Did his blade just talk?!_ She turned to Stahn, who seemed to have heard it too but decided not to remark on it. She turned away from the blade and saw Astrid working on overdrive, healing the sixth person and having ten more to go.

"Astrid, don't work so hard. You have me, remember?" Kyra lifted her hand. _**"Leanan Sidhe! Mediarama!"**_

The image of a Krityan woman with long blond hair came from her card, and with a flick of her wrist saved all the men from their battle wounds. Astrid smiled before she cringed again, holding her head.

"There's…someone else." She looked up. "Over there!"

She ran towards a huge boulder and tried her best to push it aside. After everyone heavy lifted it, they saw that there was a soldier there, nearly crushed by the weight. He looked up and saw Astrid's worried face, ready to heal him.

"I'll handle him." Kyra said, grabbing another card. _**"Hariti, Diarahna."**_

A woman in a robe and holding a baby came out of nowhere, healing all of the man's wounds. The man found himself able to move, and looked up toward Kyra, who smiled back at her healing patient.

"I thought the Wild Card was a male." The man said, slowly standing.

"There were…complications." Kyra smiled. "Are you OK?"

"I'll be fine…" He removed his helmet, revealing white hair and a strange scar on his cheek. "I guess I should thank you."

"No thanks needed." Kyra answered. "Everyone's alive now, so that's all I need."

"You…" Leon turned to Astrid. "How did you know that there was an attack?"

"I…I didn't know that there was an attack…but I did know that someone was dying…" She turned to them. "It's…my ability."

"Psychic connections?" Stahn blinked. "You have a honing ability or something?"

"No…no honing ability, but…I know when something's wrong." She held her head. "Ever since I was young…I can hear people's thoughts. But…only when they're dying. When I discovered my ability, I began to study healing magic and started to travel the world, seeing if I can find out where these voices were coming from and if I can help them. Most of the time…I'm not successful…"

"The ability to hear the dying's last thoughts…" Yuri closed his eyes. "That is the duty of the reaper…the powers of the White Witch."

Everyone stood quietly in the wreaked room, staring at a very embarrassed Astrid. As the healed were escorted out of the room, they saw a man walking toward them. He had semi-long blue hair and tanned skin, which made Kyra jump.

"Veigue?" She blinked.

"Hm? Oh, you mean the replica? Don't worry, he's safe." The man answered.

"O-oh, then you must be…" Stahn bowed. "Prince Garr, sir!"

"Garr." Yuri stared. _Veigue's original?_

"I have to admit, when I heard of what was going on, I would've never figured that it would be the White Witch that would be one of the people that were saving my men. Especially Senel over there. He was always a little rash." Garr turned back to Astrid. "In fact, from what I heard, I thought Astrid was an old woman that runs around with a large scythe."

"Uh…if you're looking for someone with a scythe, that would be me." Kyra lifted her bow, which changed to a scythe in her hands.

"You're the Wild Card, then." Garr nodded. "But…I thought you were a man?"

"Uh…" Kyra rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah…about that…"

"Well, I guess I was misinformed on that as well. No problem." Garr smiled. "If it isn't too much trouble, I would like to talk to you all in the throne room when you have the time."

"We can do that." Kyra nodded. "We'll gladly be there."

"Good." Garr turned to Leon. "Let them through."

"As you wish." Leon nodded.

Kyra turned to the others, who were all happy on the fact that they don't have to be prisoners anymore. As the swarm of soldiers left the room, he saw Leon staring at Astrid with a glare in his eyes before turning away. She summoned Ardha and turned back to Kiryll.

"We better now disappoint the prince." He nodded. "We should go."

**------**

**That's the end of the next chapter. Well, if everyone got confused on Kiryll's changing genders, well, that's something that I'll have to work on. I hope you enjoy this anyway!**


	18. Prince Garr of Hraesvelgr

**So Prince Garr had summoned the group into his throne room after they were thrown into their jail. It's compensation from what Leon was doing to them, but why would Garr meet up with them?**

**------**

The soldiers that were pretty harsh toward Kiryll were oddly friendly. He didn't even notice any form of hidden anger or angst from them.

The maids were nice enough to show them where the throne room was, and were even nice enough to open the doors for them. Once they walked in, Kiryll noticed that the room was bigger than the one that he entered back in Tethe'alla. Garr was sitting in the prince's throne, showing that the king's throne was empty.

"My king." Kiryll bowed.

"Hm? Who are you?" Garr looked confused. "Where was that girl?"

"Uh…yeah. That was me." He chuckled nervously. "It's…a newly discovered power of mine. I can…change genders…"

"He's genetically male, if that's what you want to ask." Yuri stated.

"And…uh…I like girls." Kiryll blinked.

"Oh…good." Garr looked confused by his outburst, but at the same time looked relieved. "Well, I just wanted to apologize on my kingdom's behalf on Astrid's treatment while she was a prisoner in my castle."

"I don't mind, my king." She answered, smiling. "You just want to protect your castle and the people from any type of threats. I happened to be one of them. You're justified in your decision, and I have no complaints on that."

"Not one complaint? You must have the heart of an angel." He answered. "I'm happy to hear that."

"Can I state something?" Yuri said. "Is that the only reason why you called us here?"

"No, of course not. I wanted to call you to talk about your…enemy." Garr stood. "His name is Dist, am I correct?"

"Dist the Rose." Astrid said. "He wanted Kiryll and something called the MerNes."

"It's Dist the Reaper." Arche answered. "That's his title."

"But…he wanted to be known as Dist the Rose…" Astrid looked confused.

"Anyway…these God Generals." Garr nodded. "They've started to go a little haywire these days."

"Hay…wire?" Kiryll blinked.

"They're supposed to be there to protect the world for the Sacred Pentagram to reenter the world." Garr stated. "Now apparently, all of them are going on their own personal vendettas and are now driving the world to insanity. It wouldn't be that big of a problem if there were only six of them, but…"

"There's a whole world of God Generals wreaking the planet as we speak. Beautiful." Yuri sighed. "Are there any GOOD generals out there?"

"None that I can think of. The list apparently gets added as more people are allowed on the Order's army." Garr sighed. "There must be some good ones on the list…"

"It's not like we have the whole list, my lord. We can't confirm on any names besides the top six." Stahn stated. "Not to mention that when they join the army, they're assigned a name of their own, supposedly blessed by the Pentagram themselves."

"So Dist isn't his actually name?" Astrid blinked.

"No." Stahn shook his head. "I wouldn't be surprised if everyone in the General Army has their own fake name. It's a symbol of saying that they're removing themselves from their mortal identity and being blessed with a name set by the gods themselves."

"You really know a lot about these God Generals." Garr looked impressed.

"Well, there was a rumor going around that a Swordian was in the army, so I couldn't help but take a look at it." Stahn sighed. "The rumor turned out to be false, but at that time I already got all the information that I got."

"That's interesting." Garr nodded. "Do you know any other God Generals?"

"Just the top six, that's it my lord." Stahn lowered his head. "I don't know anyone else."

"Well, that troubles me even more." Garr turned to Kiryll. "The fact that one of the top six God Generals was aiming towards the Wild Card is what's troubling me right now."

"It's not that hard to think about." Yuri butted in. "The ability Kiryll has just spells ultimate power to everyone who hears about it. Who else wouldn't want to have every single power available on this planet?"

"That's weird to think." Kiryll shivered. "Everyone just wants to have this ability that even I can't understand."

"You don't fully understand it?" Garr looked confused. "But you handled that skill well…at least that's what my soldiers have been telling me."

"Kiryll has memory loss, sir." Arche explained. "He barely remembers anything past his name and a few memories or two."

"I see." Garr turned to Kiryll. "If that's true, then how did you meet up with your companions? Did they just find you somewhere?"

"He crashed headfirst into our ship." Stahn said bluntly. "While unconscious."

Yuri and Arche turned toward Kiryll, interested looks on their faces. Kiryll could not help but feel very embarrassed by Stahn's blunt statement. Garr, however, decided it was best to drop whatever part of the subject he was walking into.

"You all must be very hungry. I have lunch being prepared as we speak." Garr nodded. "You four are free to roam around the castle if you like."

"_Which, in king speak, means DON'T LEAVE THE CASTLE GROUNDS."_ Arche shrugged.

**------**

The castle was huge, nothing like Tethe'alla. He wondered why that was, since their dynasties, as much as he was concerned, seemed around the same. By the amount of blue around the walls and pillars, he couldn't help but wonder of all castles have color schemes.

Before he knew it, he found himself in the gardens. At least, it felt like the gardens, with the abnormal amounts of flowers and trees around him. As he walked through, he felt an abnormal amount of calm around him. He knew that greenery had that effect on people, but he didn't know it was that much…

**------**

"_Enjoying yourself, Kyra?"_

_She turned her head and saw a figure walking toward her. The person was cloaked from head to toe in a large, white robe so she couldn't see his face. But she didn't seem scared. Instead, she had a smile on her face._

"_I never thought you'd come and join me on the surface, Nanael." She stated. "Why don't you take off the hood? It's really nice out here."_

"_I'm not going to be staying here for long." The man swiftly stood next to her. "I thought he would allow you to take on your true form."_

"_He thought it'd be easier for me to get along with the humans if I assumed my female form." She sighed. "I can't go against his order, you know."_

"_You're Galadriel's creation, all right. But I also have to state that His order is always justified." Nanael stated. "If however you have to go against his order, I'll give you the power to do so. There's no point of feeling like you're completely under his control. Unlike the others, at least you have free will and a consciousness. It'll be best if you can actually use it."_

"_Thank you, Nanael." Kyra smiled. "I'd like that."_

**------**

"Are you OK?"

Kiryll found himself lying on the ground, staring at a woman's face and a clear blue sky. He darted back to a sitting position and saw that the woman had flinched from his suddenly movement. She looked like a maid with her long black hair and caring eyes. He thought it was Astrid for half a second.

"I-I'm sorry." Kiryll stood. "Did I startle you?"

"O-only for a minute." She cleaned her apron. "I just heard someone in pain and found you on the ground. I thought you were hurt."

"Well…it's a normal experience for me." Kiryll held his head. "I'm sorry if I worried you. My name is Kiryll. Kiryll Nightroad."

"Yes. Prince Garr's personal guests." She bowed. "I'm Marian. Marian Festal."

"Marian. That name suits you." Kiryll smiled.

"Wh-what? U-uh…th-thank you…" She kept her head down, her face completely red.

"A-am I scaring you?" His smile faded. "Cause if I am…"

"N-n-no! No, no no! It's nothing like that!" Her hands fidgeted. "R-r-really! O-oh, I should…really be going back to my task!"

"You're taking care of the plants, right?" Kiryll turned around. "You're doing a really good job."

"W-well, I'm not…the only one…" Marian fidgeted. "I just started, so I…really have to tend to them now…"

"Oh, of course." Kiryll smiled. "Sorry to bother you."

Her face went even redder than before. With a quick bow, she ran out of his sight with a light step and a heavy watering can. As she left, he couldn't help but wonder if he was scaring her and if it was because he was the Wild Card.

**------**

It was like he summoned them. When Kiryll walked over to the dining hall, he saw his group standing there, noticing his pale exposure. Arche was quick to jump to his aid, which of course he didn't really need.

"Are you OK?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kiryll sighed. "I just…had something."

"A part of your memory came back?" Yuri asked. "Cause apparently, from what I was able to remember, having pale skin and loss of energy seem to be the only things that cause another memory to come back."

"…You're good." Kiryll sat down. "I'll be fine once I get some rest."

"What was the memory this time?" Stahn asked, kneeling next to him.

"It was small. I was Kyra and was in a garden or hill of some sort." He explained. "I was talking to this guy…it sounded like we were…together."

"…was he hot?" Arche grinned.

"I only saw his mask. I didn't see his face." Kiryll smiled. "He sure sounded like he was, though."

"OK, Kiryll, I know that you're new in the whole business-that-should-be-kept-to-yourself, but that's one of them." Yuri flinched. "Besides, who was this guy anyway?"

"Oh, um…Nanael." Kiryll answered. "That was his name."

"Nanael?!" Stahn jumped. "Dude, that's a member of the Sacred Pentagram!"

"You serious?" Kiryll jumped to his feet. "Nanael…?!"

"Yeah. Five in total." Stahn lifted his fingers. "Galadriel, Altamir, Lorelei, Ratatosk and Nanael! All creating the Sacred Pentagram and are the only beings able to summon the Descender onto this world!"

"Wow, they're responsible for a lot." Yuri blinked. "What the heck was Nanael doing with you?"

"He was mentioning something about how I was his creation and how I was the only one to have a free will, which he was proud of." Kiryll said. "What is Nanael, anyway?"

"I…don't know his part in the Sacred Pentagram." Stahn rubbed the back of his head. "If Jade is still here, I guess I'll ask him."

"That's a good idea." Arche stood up. "Any other memories with those names?"

"Um…I remember talking to a man with red hair about how I was sent by Altamir to protect him." Kiryll continued. "Could I be a messenger for the Sacred Pentagram or something?"

"Most likely. And knowing them, the entire Pentagram is filled with guys." Arche said. "Otherwise, why would they send you to this world as a girl?"

"…thanks." Kiryll blinked. "But…Nanael said that if I had to go against someone's order, he can give me the power to do so. I think it might have something to do with what happened during our fight with Dist."

"Yeah, about that. Why did you accept his deal?" Stahn asked. "We all thought you'd drop it."

"…I was going to, but something…someone…pushed me aside and told me that I had to accept his offer because he was a God General." He answered. "If it hadn't been for Jade…"

"Wait, just hold on for a minute." Yuri paused. "You said that Nanael said that if you have to go against someone's order, he'll give you the power. When you were under control, Jade gave you the power to snap through them…do you think that…?"

"It's probably just a mind control spell. It's common among mages." Arche stood up. "There's no way that it would be that."

Kiryll held his head in confusion. Was he nothing more than someone's puppet on strings? If so, who's pulling the strings? Who was manipulating him? What's going to happen to him once he finds out who's using him?

"Excuse me." A maid came through the door. "Your lunch is ready now."

"Yes! Food!" Stahn grabbed Kiryll's shoulder. "You need something in your stomach so you can think."

"…Yeah, that's a good idea." Kiryll nodded."

_**--- SKIT: The Sacred Pentagram ---**_

"_The Sacred Pentagram…did we ever go into detail on what they do?" Stahn asked._

"_I thought you knew." Yuri said._

"_Well, if I didn't know what Nanael does, I obviously don't know what the Pentagram does." Stahn shrugged. "Kiryll, any ideas?"_

"_I only know the vague details on them. I began to remember that when I remembered Nanael." Kiryll said. "Nanael is the being of knowledge. From what I know, he knows the answers to all of life's questions and even knows how to recreate life. He's also the best mage in the Pentagram."_

"_The ultimate mage, I see." Arche folded her arms. "He might be an elf or something."_

"_Ratatosk is the being of the monsters." Kiryll looked at the sky. "All of the monsters we've fought up to this point…he's in charge of them, like a king. He's so high up in the power of monsters that he can take a human form."_

"_Monsters with human forms?" Stahn jumped. "That's just weird."_

"_Uh…Lorelei is the being of life and the creator of the seventh fonon." Kiryll nodded. "You see, he was originally Galadriel's Persona before he began to give life to everything around us. In fact, it's stated that Lorelei is the one who created the Pentagram itself."_

"_Lorelei is just up there? Wow." Yuri grinned. "The fact that he descended onto the human world as well states that he must've had quite the curiosity on the beings he created."_

"_Yeah. On that note, Galadriel is the being of protection. Basically he's the Pentagram's best warrior and the only person who has access to the Descender's summoning." Kiryll paused. "And Altamir…"_

"_What about Altamir?" Arche blinked._

"…_I don't know. I blanked out on him." Kiryll rubbed the back of his head. "Why is that?"_

_**--- END ---**_

**So that's the end of this filler chapter! It'll kick up sooner or later. So what should I do to make your waiting a lot more anxious? Ooh, maybe I'll give you a major hint on the Pentagram!**

……

**Nah, maybe not.**


	19. Sacred Pentagram: Altamir

**Kiryll regained a little more of his memories, and learns that he has a strange connection with the Sacred Pentagram, beings that created and rule over this world. What is his connection, if he has any? Does he already know?**

**Oh yeah, that hint about the Sacred Pentagram? I decided WHAT THE HELL and placed it in this chapter! AND…and and and and…**_**you get to meet one!**_** Like…the REAL THING. Is it too early to introduce one? Well…you probably already saw this one coming.**

**------**

Like Tethe'alla, the table used for dining was long and Garr was eating peacefully on the other side of the room. Everyone else was there as well, and through the group, Kiryll couldn't help but notice that Leon was there as well. He didn't look too pleased that they were in the room, yet made no move to say anything.

"YES! FOOD!"

"I got dibs on the big one!"

Yuri and Kiryll watched as the other two soared to their seats and began to eat all the food in front of them. Odd enough, they were able to keep their manners. Shrugging, they went to join their companions. Garr smiled as Kiryll sat down.

"I'm glad that you kept up my invitation." He said.

"It would be rude of me not to come." Kiryll responded.

"Aww…you turned back into a guy?" Zelos pouted. "Too bad. I liked you better as a female."

"Uh…well…" Kiryll blinked, confused. "I prefer being a man…"

"Well, that's sad." Zelos leaned over to him. "Because one night with me would've made you change your mind…"

Kiryll's face turned bright red, not even beginning to state on the others who have realized that Zelos, again, said way too much for ordinary people to begin thinking upon. Leon elbowed him, stopping his train of thought.

"So…" Yuri slowly turned away from Zelos. "Jade, we wanted to ask you about the Sacred Pentagram."

"Hm?" He looked from his plate. "What's there to be curious about? You already know their purpose and their stand in human society."

"Yeah, but…we want to know what each one specifically did." Yuri said.

"Like a specific heron to a specific part of society." Arche explained. "It's too much to spread the entire duty around, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Philia blinked. "The Sacred Pentagram rule over the entire world equally, harboring only a continent, not a factor of life. Being a priestess of the Hraesvelgr branch of the Star Order, I happen to know and will happily answer any questions on them."

"No, Philia, they're right." Jade nodded. "Out of all of the members of the Pentagram, they all hold specific parts of the factor that ends up running human and heron lives."

"So I guess we were right about something." Stahn swallowed a bite. "We got a basic hold of the entire thing, but we kinda don't know about one of them."

"Who's the person?" Jade asked.

"Altamir." Kiryll leaned forward. "Who's Altamir?"

From the corner of his eye, he saw Leon flinch from that statement. It wasn't noticeable, since even the maids that were looking at him seemed to remark on it, so he decided that he was going to drop his observation.

"Altamir is the original Wild Card. He's the one who created all Persona and assigns them to herons…and humans," _(he said humans with a shrug)_ "who happens to be chosen by Galadriel to hold that specific power."

"So Galadriel decides on who gets what Persona, and Altamir gives it to them." Kiryll blinked.

"Yes. And if Galadriel and Altamir both agree on the decision, the person would be blessed with Altamir's ultimate power…Wild Card." Jade nodded to him. "Like yourself."

"Hm…is that why they were talking about me…?" Kiryll rubbed his temples.

"That's why _who _was talking about you?" Rutee asked.

"…" He looked at Yuri, who looked away with a slight nod. "Nanael. I recently had a memory on which Nanael was talking to me."

"Are you serious?!" Philia gasped. "That's incredible! Encounters with the Pentagram such as that makes those people saints!"

"Uh…m-me?" Kiryll was caught off guard. "N-no, I can't be a saint…"

"Meeting up with the Pentagram is a blessing, you know." Jade grinned. "Right, Kratos?"

"…are you seriously agreeing with this?" Kratos grumbled.

Kiryll stared at everyone as the talking continued, not knowing whether he was hungry or not, when he felt something hit the back of his head. He turned his head to see that a figure was standing next to where Garr was sitting. It was then that he realized that time had frozen, everyone stopped in mid conversation. The figure had long, red hair covering his eyes and a strange white robe…

"_**You're the one from my memory…"**_ Kiryll remarked, hearing the echo of his voice. _**"I was sent to watch over you…"**_

"_**Yes, exactly."**_The figure nodded. _**"That's why I wanted to tell you this…while you're in the presence of a king."**_

"_**Tell me…what?"**_ Kiryll blinked.

"…_**The Descender has been summoned. But I don't think he'll be enough."**_ The figure walked to him. _**"There's something going on, Kiryll. It's tied back to Guede."**_

"_**Guede…the man who was after my Cruxis Crystal…"**_ Kiryll held his chest. _**"The Descender won't be able to handle him?"**_

"_**Not alone. The rest of the Pentagram have already been sent to confront this."**_

"_**Wait…WHAT?!"**_ Kiryll shot up to his feet. _**"The Sacred Pentagram…"**_

"_**They are on the human surface."**_ The man nodded, looking at the people at the table. _**"Like me."**_

"_**You're…part of the Pentagram…"**_ Kiryll's eyes widened. _**"Lorelei…"**_

"_**So you do remember me. That's good."**_ The man nodded again, smiling. _**"I would tell you more, but for now you must spread the message of our coming."**_

"…_**that'll be dangerous. Especially for you."**_ Kiryll said. _**"All five of you are herons, right?"**_

"_**Yes."**_ The man turned around. _**"But we can handle ourselves. I'll see you again, Kiryll. Very soon, in fact."**_

The figure vanished from his eyes, and time shot back into motion. Kiryll's extremely pale face was enough of a warning to knock the conversation out for a loop. Someone kicked his leg, and he turned to see a concerned Arche.

"What's wrong with you?" Arche asked. "It looks as if you saw a ghost."

"I…think I did." Kiryll knew he had to say the message. He stood up. "I…was visited by Lorelei. Just now."

"Just now?!" Philia turned around. "Where did he go?!"

"He just wanted to talk to me." He answered. "He wanted to relay a message to everyone here…"

"What's the message?" Leon asked, the only person not somewhat surprised by what had just happened.

"He said that the Descender has been summoned to counter Guede." Kiryll looked at Philia and braced himself. "He also said that…the Pentagram has also descended onto the surface."

There was about something close to an uproar. Everyone had shot up to their feet and were now muttering random things to themselves. The most shocked, unshockingly enough, was Philia, who was muttering to herself on how she was finally going to meet up with them. He turned and saw that Leon had sat there unchanged, but was now staring blankly at Kiryll, unnerving him.

"So the Pentagram is on the world." Garr sat down. "This is a threat indeed, this Guede."

"He went after me once, my lord." Kiryll said. "He's a threat indeed."

"We have to keep the coming of the Pentagram a secret." Philia stated. "If the word goes out that they're on the world, everyone might panic on the possibility of Armageddon, not to mention that they're herons."

"Right. Hunters will go nuts on the hunt for their Cruxis Crystals." Garr nodded. "We'll keep their coming a secret. For now, just enjoy the lunch and we'll discuss this later."

Kiryll couldn't help but nod as he continued on his food. The entire time, he noticed that Leon was staring at him, making him feel even weirder. Suddenly, the door slowly opened, and Veigue walked in with Claire. Garr noticed him and smiled warmly.

"Is this the replica you're talking about?" He laughed. "He does look like me."

"You're…laughing about it, sir?" Stahn was confused.

"Well, he doesn't seem to have any malice to him. He shouldn't be a threat." Garr shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"So…you're the man I was created from." Veigue nodded. "My name is Veigue…"

"Lungberg. Veigue Lungberg." Claire interjected. "I'm Claire Bennett."

"Nice to meet you both. Come, join us." Garr gestured to the two empty seats. "I'm glad that you decided to take up my offer. This might feel weird to you…"

"It…does. But it doesn't matter. We're our own identity, regardless of appearance." Veigue answered.

During that time, Kiryll noticed that Leon had finished with his lunch and was now leaving the room. For a split second, he saw Leon gesture nonchalantly toward the door as he left. Confused, Kiryll pulled away from his seat.

"It was a lovely meal, my lord." Kiryll stood. "I would love to have something like this again."

"You're very welcome, Kiryll." Garr nodded.

Kiryll nodded and left, hearing Rutee and Philia bombarding Yuri about something. He didn't care at the moment, only wondering what Leon would possibly want to say to him. As he left the dining room, he noticed only the corner of his cape as he dashed out of the hallway. As nonchalantly as he could, Kiryll went to follow him.

**------**

Kiryll found himself in a wide green area surrounded by trees and illuminated by a single beam of sunlight. The walls made him realize that he had wandered underground somewhere, and it was then that he saw Leon standing in the middle of the area.

"You finally found this place. Here I thought I was going to be waiting for you the whole day."

"Well, when it's nonchalant and you're running at near sonic speed, it's hard to catch up." Kiryll wiped a bit of sweat from his brow. "What is it that you wanted to tell me anyway?"

"First off…the man that visited you." Leon turned to him. "Are you sure that it was Lorelei?"

"He had long red hair and really bright robes." Kiryll said. "When I said his name, he only nodded."

"…_so that's what he meant when he said he was going to give the signal."_ Leon sighed.

"Leon?" Kiryll looked confused. "What's going on?"

"Kiryll Nightroad." Leon looked directly at him. "How much of your memory have you retained?"

"Huh? Uh, well…not much." Kiryll held his head. "Just meeting up Lorelei when he was on the human surface and talking to Nanael about Galadriel. W-why?"

"OK…that's good enough." Leon sighed again. "Lorelei was always one to think things through."

Before Kiryll could question on it, Leon extended his wings. They were bright white, just like Kiryll's, only there were six of them instead of the common two. When Leon opened his eyes, he noticed that his purple eyes had just brightened up to a light violet. It was then that he knew what was going on.

"You're…part of the Pentagram…" Kiryll was shocked, although not in much shock that he thought that he was going to be in.

"Yes. Before I descended, Lorelei told me that once he informs the Chosen on our decision that it would be safe for me to tell you." Leon dismissed his wings. "I am Altamir, but on this world, I am Leon Magnus."

"You're Altamir." Kiryll shook out his shock. "So you're in charge of Persona."

"Not in this form. Here, I'm just as strong as you are." Leon looked to the sky. "Plus, most of my memory has been repressed as well. Must've been Guede's doing."

"You're saying that you can't remember anything…aside from your human memories." Kiryll blinked.

"That, and the message that Lorelei told me concerning you." Leon turned to him. "Once I regain all of my memories, I'll be able to hold my ground. But in this form, I'll be just as vulnerable as any other heron on this planet."

"Meaning that I might as well keep you a secret." Kiryll said.

"That will be greatly preferred." Leon walked past Kiryll. "Knowing that message, Garr will summon the Pentagram to join your guild. I bet that we'll see each other on your ship soon."

"We'll meet then."

------

Like Leon had predicted, the guild ship had entered the town. Chat was at the opening with Luke. When Astrid walked onto the ship, she noticed Luke, blushed, and ran onto the ship, leaving Luke confused and followed her.

"So these're the new recruits?" Chat grinned. "Having the Order of Swordian on the ship is a blessing indeed!"

"This is strictly for business!" Rutee said, a hint of happiness and excitement in her voice.

"We'll need your support for our mission." Philia said.

"Anything you need, we'll provide." Chat answered.

As Kiryll began to walk on the ship, he noticed Leon passing him. He didn't look at anyone, but only granted a small glance as Kiryll. Once he did that, he turned completely around, seeing Garr walking toward him, a sword and bow on his hip and a girl next to him. She was short with pink hair.

"My lord, you're coming with us?" Leon looked confused.

"I can't just leave this prophecy behind. I must take an active part in this." He turned to the girl next to him. "Chelsea thinks so too."

"Whatever this prophecy is, we have to make sure it comes to fruition!" She turns to Garr. "It would be nice if you would tell me what it is, though!"

"I'm sorry, but I'm sworn to secrecy." He turned to Leon. "Leon, I've also gotten the pleasure of allowing a maid into the ship."

"A maid?" Chat laughed. "We already got a lot of nice people on our ship! You really don't need one!"

"Well, I think this one is one we need in particular."

Before anyone could question, they saw a girl walking toward the ship, carrying a huge piece of luggage and was dressed like a maid. Kiryll's eyes widened into interest as she tripped at the deck, much to Leon's surprise.

"Marian?" Kiryll smiled. "Nice to see that you're coming as well."

"Well, Prince Garr called me personally, so…" She looked up at Leon. "O-oh!"

"You need help there?" Leon said with a smile on his face.

"N-no! I-I'll be fine! J-just…give me a moment!"

Kiryll watched as Marian lifted the heavy load and ran into the ship, much to his amusement. Leon was quick to enter the ship after her, leaving Kiryll last to enter. The ship lifted up into the air and flew away, ready to resume its business.

**------**

**And…that's the Pentagram. You probably already saw this coming but…Eheheh, I got Marian in this story too!**


	20. Astrid Rosen :::FILLER!:::

**So with the end of such a huge reveal, Kiryll Nightroad is ready to just resume his business as a guild member. The thing is that…well, with all the events that are happening, he probably won't be able to do "just a simple job" anymore.**

**Which leads us to…A FILLER CHAPTER? NOOOOOOOOO! Well, this is here only to introduce other characters. So…I guess it's not filler. Much.**

**------**

"It's such a nice change to just do JOBS instead of flying around saving the world, huh?" Arche stretched.

"As much as that seems weird, I agree with you." Stahn looked at the job board. "Anything new yet?"

"Nothing as of yet." Kiryll looked at one. "Huh. This is interesting. It's from Aspio, something about bodyguard duty?"

"Bodyguards? Let me look." Yuri took a glance at the job. "The man's named Edgar Wallace. Apparently someone's after his fortune and he wants someone watching over him for the night. Guy can't even trust his own money to get guards, huh?"

"What can you say? Practical guards are hard to come by." Stahn laughed. "It's only for one day. Should we take it?"

"I happen to know Aspio. It'll be a nice change of pace from the whole 'Pentagram-coming-into-this-world' business." Yuri grinned.

"So we're taking this job." Kiryll confirmed.

**------**

The area was surprisingly lively despite the fact that it was in a cave. Buildings were reaching high into the top of the caves, and yet no one seemed bothered that it was inside. At the door, they were called for passports, but the call for Edgar was quick enough to get them in. As they walked through the city and found the mansion, a man was there to greet them. He was in a white suit and was smoking a cigarette, which made Yuri cringe.

"Oh geez. He's one of THOSE guys." He sighed. "I can't believe I took this job."

"Well, it's only for a night." Kiryll looked at him. "You must be Edgar Wallace."

"Yes. And you must be the bodyguards I hired." Edgar nodded. "That's good. I was worried because only one other man took up my offer."

"Hm?" Arche blinked. "And who would that be?"

Before anyone could answer, Edgar smiled a strange smile, creeping everyone out. Before they knew it, a flash of light erupted from behind him, and then everything went dark. As Kiryll lost consciousness, he could've sworn that he heard someone laughing.

**--- TWO** **DAYS LATER… ---**

"I'm worried about Kiryll." Astrid looked at Chat. "Are you sure that he's hasn't contacted you yet?"

"Nope. Neither did the other three that went with him." Chat looked at the records. "I'm planning on sending a group after them and see if they're still in Aspio."

"Send me." Astrid said. "I'm good enough for the front lines."

"You sure?" Chat looked at her. "Being the White Witch and all, you might attract unwanted attention."

"That's why I'm coming with, sweetie."

Before she knew it, a hand was placed on Astrid's shoulder. She jumped, only to realize that it was Zelos. That made her freak out a little more and freeze all her muscles, which didn't help when he grinned his womanizer grin at her.

"I'm a heron, sweetie. You're in good hands."

"No you're not." Leon pushed Zelos aside. "I'm worried about them too. I request that I come along as well."

"Yeah. Knowing Kiryll's logic, he wants a full four group, so see if anyone else wants to come." Chat looked at the three of them.

"Oh please. Look at us. Two herons are protecting one mage. She'll be fine." Zelos placed an arm around Astrid, who squeaked with panic.

"I'm coming too."

Everyone turned to see Luke walking through the doorway, standing with his blade at his hip, ready to go. He looked dead serious, similar to Leon and nothing like Zelos's happy-go-lucky attitude. Chat nodded.

"Three herons and one human…let's just hope that we're not dealing with Hunters." Chat nodded. "We're heading to Aspio now. Get yourselves ready. You start the minute we land."

**------**

"So this is Aspio…" Astrid looked around. "This place is so big."

"This is the Sealed City of Scholar…Aspio." Leon looked around him. "It's the head of mana and aer research in the country of Terca Lumireis."

"That explains why this place feels so dense." Zelos looked around. "The aer here is _thick._"

"Can't they convert it to mana?" Luke tapped the side of the cavern. "They're somewhat the same, right?"

"A little bit." Leon walked forward. "But we don't time for that conversation. We should get in as soon as we can."

"Yeah…" Astrid nodded.

She walked ahead of them and began to head to the gate. Just as she was about to pass them, a spear dropped in front of her, startling her. She turned and saw that there were two guards there, armored with the symbol of Zaphias.

"No one passes through without proper identification." The man said.

"Why identification?" Luke blinked.

"This place is one of the headquarters for the Royal Army of Zaphias." The other guard answered. "We can't just let ordinary people in, can we?"

"No you can't." Leon passed Astrid. "I'll handle this."

Before her eyes, she saw him pull out a passport from his pocket and presented it to the guards. They stared at it for a few minutes before they jumped in shock and stared at Leon for a few minutes more.

"Y-you're…" They gasped.

"I'm Leon Magnus, member of the Order of Swordian from Hraesvelgr." He stated. "I'm here on a political mission with these three people. We would like access into Aspio."

"O-of course…s-s-sir!"

They scrambled out of the way, letting them enter. Leon quietly walked in without letting the others question about it, forcing them to follow him. Once they were in the main square, Leon slowed down, allowing the others to catch up.

"Man, you got some political ties!" Zelos laughed.

"Being in the Order of Swordian allows the main leaders to travel as they wish." Leon sighed. "Seriously, just focus and try to find Edgar's mansion."

At that moment, Astrid heard a faint mumbling from behind her. Turning around, she saw that there was no one there, except for a confused Luke that caught eye contact with her. In fact, the mumbling was all around her.

"…_**ca……ve……"**_

"_**Le…..e….t!"**_

"Astrid, are you OK?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" She lowered her hands. "I thought I…heard something."

"Heard…?" Zelos turned around. "All I hear are people talking."

"It must be her ability." Leon looked at Astrid. "Are those voices close?"

"N-no…" She blinked. "They're more…muffled than what I'm used to. I can't make it out."

Before Leon could go to question her, someone bumped into Astrid, knocking both of them into the ground. She turned and saw that it was a girl with short brown hair and a red outfit, matched with two different pairs of socks. She quickly leapt onto her feet.

"Watch where you're standing!" She yelled. "You might end up hurting someone!"

"I-I-I'm sorry!" Astrid bowed. "I didn't see you-"

"Damn straight you didn't!" The girl turned to the guys, and a feeling of shock went on her face. "Are you serious? Are you three suitors?!"

"Wh-wh-wh-whaaaaaaaaat?!" Astrid began to panic. "N-no!"

"We're here to look for a couple people." Zelos seemed interested in this girl. "You've seen them? Three guys, one girl-"

"I've seen them." The girl glared at Zelos. "What, you four haven't seen a mirror lately?"

"No, not us." Leon obviously sounded pissed.

"Yes, there were three guys and a girl, but not us." Luke stepped in front of Leon. "A white-haired boy with a purple jacket, a blond man with white armor, a pink-haired girl that was probably on a broom and a purple-haired guy with a purple vest and a weird glare on him?"

"He glares?" Zelos looked at him. "I didn't notice that."

"Wait…is one of the guys named Yuri Lowell?" The girl asked.

"You have seen him, then." Astrid's eyes lightened.

"No, I've just butted heads with him before." The girl stepped back. "What was he doing in a place like this?"

"He was doing a job for a man here." Leon wasn't even looking at her anymore. "Do you know the location of a man named Edgar Wallace?"

"That freak? Ugh, I avoid his mansion like the plague!" The girl pointed at a pathway. "If you must know, it's that way. It's bright white, so you can't miss it. Now if you excuse me, I have work to do."

The girl ran off before Astrid could say anything. Leon shrugged and began walking on the path, obviously happy that the girl was out of the way. Suddenly, he stopped and turned back around and was glaring at something behind her.

"Do you guys have to follow us?!"

She turned around and saw Kyle tripping over Norma, who had stopped dead in her tracks once she was found. Estelle and Rutee had come to their aid, further making Leon annoyed as ever. Zelos didn't seem to have a problem with that.

"Well well, more people to keep us company I see." He grinned.

"More like people to slow us down." Leon grumbled. "We're fine as we are."

"Hey, unlike you, I happen to be related to one of them!" Kyle growled. "I can't help but be worried!"

"We can be a great asset to you, you know. We can handle ourselves!" Norma argued.

Astrid began to think whether or not to allow them, since they can handle themselves in a fight, when Leon suddenly dashed through and grabbed Kyle's collar. Everyone else jumped in shock by what he was doing.

"That's the reason why you're not coming. Your emotions are going to be the reason why they won't be coming back alive." He growled. "If you really want to help us, back off and let us handle it."

He threw Kyle on the ground before turning and leaving. The others quickly ran after Leon, confused on what just happened. Astrid stood there confused, thinking on whether or not to help Kyle or follow Leon, before deciding that Kyle is in good hands. She turned and followed the soldier.

_**--- SKIT: Leon in the Spotlight ---**_

"_Leon, I hate to say it, but I think that was a little much back there." Zelos blinked._

"_I had to say it like that. It's the only way to get my point across." Leon said as he continued to walk. "Emotions are the main factor when it comes to clouded judgment. If they were to come with us, it would only hinder our progress and make the whole situation worse."_

"_Of course." Zelos grinned. "I expected nothing less from the strongest warrior in Hraesvelgr."_

"_You're the strongest?" Astrid gasped. "Wow…I'm surprised I didn't know that. After traveling the world so many times, I thought I would hear a rumor like that."_

"_All the political figures in the world know about Leon." Luke stated. "The man who can calculate every single problem with freakish precision…like a computer!"_

"_He can't be that heartless…" Astrid looked at him. "I mean, he's still human. He must have some type of emotion in him."_

"_Yeah!" Zelos grinned. "Like how he has a fetish for girls with big boobs!"_

_***Freeze***_

"_What?" Leon asked, trying to keep his cool._

"_Come on, he really does!" He laughed. "He always seemed to be hanging around that girl he came with, right?"_

"_Who, Rutee?" Astrid looked confused._

"_No, no her! Her boobs are good, but nothing compared to that Marian chick!" Zelos laughed. "Then again, hers are __NOTHING__ compared to you, Astrid-"_

"_**END OF THE CONVERSATION!"**__ Leon growled, throwing Zelos off his feet. "Can we just get on with this so I can avoid you for the rest of my life?"_

"_I couldn't say it any better." Luke shivered._

"_Me too…" Astrid cringed, holding her chest._

_**--- END ---**_

They finally found the mansion after a few minutes of searching. It was big, yet it was built differently from the other buildings, more of a mansion than a research building. As Leon approached the door, Astrid noticed that there were two butlers at the door.

"Ah, Leon Magnus of the Swordian Order." One of them greeted. "And to what do we owe the pleasure?"

"I like to see the man of the house about a personal matter." Leon said.

The word 'personal' seemed weird coming from his mouth. As the butlers opened the door, they entered, realizing that there was a garden filled to the brim with statues. They seemed so lifelike that it made Luke shiver.

"The master always had an artistic eye for statues." The other butler told them. "He said that it was a beautiful vessel for holding any form of life within them."

"Well, whoever's making these must be downright famous." Zelos gawked at a couple of females. "These are flawless! I want a couple."

"That can be arranged." The butler nodded.

What made Astrid shiver was that the voices were back in her head. They weren't clear like what she was used to, but they were muffled, as if they were saying their thoughts through a cone. Plus, they seemed to have a strong tone to them, making her come to the conclusion that they weren't dying in the same sense as before. _But where were they coming from?_

"Ah, look at this! Leon Magnus, at my door step!"

Everyone turned to see a large man with a white tux standing in front of the open door. He was alone, a factor that made Astrid confused, except for another butler that had his head down. Leon approached him without so much as a hesitation, forcing her to follow.

"And what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" He asked with a huge grin on his face.

"I just want to know of the people who last came here." He answered. "The ones that took your request?"

"Oh, those people! Well, I lost track of them once they were done with their mission, so I can't really help you there." Edgar motioned to the door. "However, I can't just let you go off alone. I insist you stay the night."

"The night?" Luke blinked. "Yeah, that seems to be a good idea."

"Yeah…" Astrid nodded. _No doubt that we'll find something in there…_

**------**

**And thus begins the first of a filler series. Sucks, huh? Sorry. I just needed to introduce this character so badly. You already know who she is, anyway. **


	21. The Story A Statue Tells :::FILLER!:::

**So Astrid and her group have infiltrated the home of Edgar Wallace. Now all that is left is to find the source of the voices that she is hearing and hopefully find Kiryll and his companions. Hopefully, they are not too late, and hopefully I end this filler section ^_^**

**------**

The inside of the mansion looked similar to any other mansion that Astrid had ever entered _(aka two at the most)_, with a huge lobby with stairs in front of her, adorned with two statues. There weren't any voices in the lobby, making her extremely confused.

"I'm sorry to hear that they haven't returned to you. They didn't seem busy." Edgar sighed. "I especially liked the one with the long blond hair. He had such life in him."

"Stahn? Really?" Astrid looked confused.

"I think that was his name." Edgar grinned. "Not to mention his SWORD…that was a fascinating treasure to say the least."

"_**God, leave it to Stahn to show off Dymlos like that."**_

Astrid blinked, wondering where that voice was coming from. Unlike the others, it was clear and unhindered, as if the person wasn't dying at all. From the corner of her eye, she noticed that Leon had held his sword as of holding a person's mouth shut.

"Come to think of it, isn't that sword the same as his?" Edgar looked at Leon.

"What, are you interested in this?" Leon lifted the blade. "I'm sorry, but Chal is my pride and joy."

"Of course it is. It's a rare treasure from Hraesvelgr, hence the clinginess from the ones proud enough to say that they own one." Edgar sighed. "But…come to think of it, all four of them had some form of treasure on them. Like the white-haired boy and his _cross…"_

"You sound as if you're jealous." Zelos grinned.

"Well, when you're among the rich, you can't help but notice the values of the items the poor hold." Edgar laughed as though it was a joke. "Isn't that true, Chosen?"

"You and me both!" Zelos laughed with him.

"And what about you, girl?" Edgar turned to Astrid. "Are you their maid?"

"Huh? M-me?" She blinked.

"She's our traveling companion." Leon said without turning to her. "She's related to the white-haired man that came here, and we volunteered to help her look for them."

"I see. Well, I'm sorry that I can't help you." Edgar grinned. "Oh, here we are! I hope that you're hungry, cause we're just starting a party!"

Astrid couldn't help but wonder if Edgar was expecting them. As they entered the room, she saw that it was in fact a party. There were people walking around and dancing, having a merry old time. She turned to look at everyone, only to see that they have all separated and were now mingling with the others.

_I should probably blend in or something…_

Suddenly, a voice came to her mind. It seemed muffled like before, but it was being covered by the loud music and the chatty guests. As normally as she could, she wandered the room and tried to hone onto the voice, but she couldn't get a hold of it.

_Maybe it's just me._ She thought. _I guess I'll go into the party._

Straightening her outfit, she slowly eased herself into the crowd. The people looked dressed to party, nothing compared to the simple red dress that she would always wear. Turning around, she saw Zelos chatting up a few girls like he was used to it _(he probably was)_.

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

She turned and saw that Luke had approached her, a glass of water in his hand extended to her. She felt herself blushing as she took the drink and shoved it to her lips, too scared to respond. She nodded.

"Man, what luck that we get into this building when there's a party going on." Luke sighed. "It's going to make finding the others easier, but it's so much harder to get out of here."

"Y-yeah…" Astrid looked at the doors, blocked by butlers and guards.

"I even tried the bathroom excuse. Apparently they have them built in the room." He turned around. "Man, I wish Tear was here…"

"Tear?" Astrid looked at him. "Oh, you mean that woman that was with you? The one with the long, brown hair?"

"Yeah, that's her." He grinned. "She's really elegant when she dances. But the truth is that she's really shy about it."

"Oh…" She stared at him. "Are you two…dating?"

"Hm?" He blushed. "Uh, well…it's not really OFFICIAL, but…"

She felt a strange pain stab through her chest. She couldn't explain it, since she barely knew much about him other than the fact that he's the heir to the throne in Kimlasca, but it felt as if she loved him all her life. Turning away, she saw Leon bow in front of her, freaking her out.

"Shall we dance?" He asked, hinting at a form of a smile.

Astrid had no idea what to do. After a split second, she concluded that it was just to talk about the mission in the only form of secrecy that they can get and took his hand. As elegantly as she expected, they were pulled onto the dance floor and blended in with the group.

"_Luke already checked out the doorways. We can't leave." _She said, figuring that she'll start.

"_The windows are blocked too. Apparently Edgar was expecting something from us."_ Leon said, spinning her perfectly.

"_Maybe not us. Do you think he was expecting something else?"_ Astrid barely kept her balance from another spin.

"_Unlikely."_ Leon looked at the other dancers. _"What's strange is that we haven't even noticed these people enter through the door, and it seems as if the party just started."_

"_So it's not just me?"_ Astrid stumbled but kept her balance.

"_No. He's obviously waiting for us to do something before he strikes."_ Leon held her hand. _"But what is he waiting for?"_

"_**Maybe he's waiting for the both of you to kiss or something."**_

"_Chal!"_

Astrid stared at what just happened. That clear voice had echoed in the air again, closer than before. What was stranger was that Leon had responded to it, as if he had heard that voice as well. Confused, she turned to the sword, noticing that it was glowing just barely.

"Did…did your sword just talk?" She blinked, staring at it.

"Huh?" Leon looked confused.

"I heard a voice…just now." Astrid blushed. "It talked about…us _kissing?"_

Leon's face went red, something that made Astrid panic. He grumbled something to himself and looked as if he wanted to smack his sword, but then he stopped as if something caught his attention. He looked back at her.

"You…heard Chal?" He was slowing down.

"Is that the name of your sword?" She asked. "It…sounded like a man."

"_**Hah! So she can hear me! She has the potential of wielding me…if of course you allow it."**_

"But…I can't wield swords." Astrid turned to Chal. "I'm a mage, remember?"

"_**Oh yeah…sorry about that."**_

The entire time, Leon was shocked about the turn of events. It was strange, since she thought that he saw this coming. Instead of stopping like expected, he continued with the dancing like this hadn't happened.

"_You did hear Chal."_ He answered. _ "Only people able to wield Swordians can hear their voices."_

"_Swordians talk…that means Stahn's sword talks too."_ Astrid blinked. "Wait, can't Kiryll hear them too?"

"_Yeah, but that's because of his Wild Card status. That power allows him to hear them nonetheless."_ Leon looked at Astrid. _"How you can hear them…"_

"_Maybe the fact that I can hear the voices of the dying also allows me to hear Swordians?" _ She looked at him.

"_I can't say for certain."_ Leon nodded. _"For now, we just have to focus on finding Kiryll and the others."_

Astrid nodded as the song ended. She felt Leon slip from her fingers and walk away from her, leaving her confused as to what to actually think. Turning around, she saw a butler nodding toward her.

"You must be tired." He said. "Lord Edgar asked me to escort you to your room."

"But I'm not." She said, confused.

"He insists."

She turned back to see that Leon had vanished into the crowd, and Luke was nowhere in sight, so she ended up following the butler out of the room. As she walked behind the chandelier, she gasped as she passed a statue that looked exactly like Yuri.

"Ah, that." The butler nodded. "When they were here, Lord Edgar insisted that he create statues in memory of them, since he loved their figures and believed that there should be renderings of them."

"So he loves statues of people that visit his home, right?"

"Yes, exactly."

Astrid had no idea what to think. Instead, she kept the statue in her memory as she followed the butler out of the room and into the bright hallway.

**------**

The room that she was escorted to looked small and fancy, normal for a mansion guest room. The door closed behind her as she wandered in the room. There was no signal that there was a nightgown, instead showing a beautiful red gown lying on the bed.

_Why is that there?_

She picked it up and carried it to the mirror. It seemed as if it was fitted for her, down to the details that she wanted in a dress. She was about to put it on when she heard a muffled voice again. It sounded familiar, but it was quiet, almost impossible to hone onto. Confused, she dropped the dress back on the bed and headed to the door.

_There's no one outside…?_

Opening the door, she saw that the hallway was dead quiet and dark, as if it was already late at night. Since she was inside a cavern, it was impossible to determine whether or not it was in fact night time. Holding her staff tightly to herself, she walked quietly in the darkness, holding the wall for balance. The statue of Yuri was the only thing echoing into her mind.

_Maybe I should wait for Luke and the others…_ She shook her head. _No, it's too much. They're probably waiting in the ballroom for me._

Finally, she found the door that was the ballroom. She quietly pushed it open, hoping to hear for music and partying. Instead, she saw that the room was dead empty. In fact, there was no indication that there was a party at all. Then she heard the muffled voice again.

"_**If only I can move…what the hell did he do to me?"**_

_That voice…it's definitely Yuri!_

She quickly and quietly ran through the hall to the other side, recalling from memory where he was. Once she found the statue, she closed her eyes and leaned towards it, hoping that she can hear any type of voice in the darkness.

"_**That Edgar…no…that man…I can't believe he can even do this type of spell…"**_

"Yuri…" _I'm right. All the statues are human!_

She dug into her pockets for a Panacea, but found that she was fresh out. She began to wish that Luke was there with her. Hopefully he was smart enough to have a Panacea with him. She shook her head to force the thought out of her mind as she went to fish from her memory any spells that can clear out Petrification.

"You're hopeless…"

She turned and saw Leon and Arche walking through the shadows. Leon held the one bottle of Panacea as Arche held his sword. She couldn't help but smile as he splashed it on Yuri. Instantly, she heard the stone sizzle away from his skin and he fell to his knees. She jumped to his aid, only to see him turn to her.

"Astrid?" He looked at Leon. "So…you guys were curious."

"That was easier than I thought." Astrid stood. "I thought Edgar would have more security when it comes to his human statues."

"He obviously knows that we found out his secret." Leon folded his arms as he tossed Yuri his blade. "He'll be going after us, no doubt about that."

"What about the others?" She panicked. "Zelos and Luke? Not to mention-"

"I saw Arche's statue on the way out." He pointed at her. "Most likely that they'll get them."

"Do they even have Panacea bottles?" Arche asked. "We all know you have an overabundance of them…"

"I personally gave them one. I missed Astrid by a few seconds." He turned to Yuri. "Now we have to get out of here before they find us."

"I agree with that."

As Arche helped Yuri to his feet, they dashed through the ballroom and into the hallway. They nearly crashed into Stahn and Zelos _(who was lucky enough to get Dymlos before being saved)_ before dashing into the lobby.

"So Luke is in charge of Kiryll…?" Arche asked.

"He should have him by now." Zelos said. "What's taking him? And do you think he has the cross with him?"

"I have it." Stahn lifted it from the armor around his neck. "Kiryll thought there was something fishy so he left it with me."

"Why you? It would've been easier for them to get it from you." Zelos asked.

"I don't question Kiryll's deep logic."

They finally found themselves in the lobby where they saw Luke standing there at the top of the stairs. What confused them was that Kiryll wasn't with him. Leon quickly dashed to him with anger on his face.

"I thought you were supposed to get Kiryll!" He said.

"I was! I actually went there!" Luke gasped. "But when I got there…he was gone!"

"He broke out?" Yuri asked.

"_**No, not really."**_

The lights fell on them, revealing Edgar and another man at the entrance of the building. The man had long, dark red hair and looked as though his clothes came from the stars themselves. Behind him was the statue of Kiryll.

"That's him! The guy that turned us into statues!" Arche gasped.

"Creed Graphite…" Leon bit his lip. "I knew that it was you the minute I learned of your statues."

"Please, don't use my name. I'm better known nowadays as Star the Scarlet Devil." He said with a deep voice.

"A God General?!" Stahn panicked. "That's just great! What the hell is a man like you doing with this guy?!"

"Just for this man." He tapped Kiryll's statue. "I must admit that it was easier than I thought…getting access to him."

"You're not leaving with him!" Astrid lifted her staff. "You're going to have to go through all of us!"

**------**

**More filler to come? No, say it isn't so! Sad, I know, but it's true.**


	22. Rita Mordio :::FILLER!:::

**So Kiryll Nightroad is another victim of a man named Star the Scarlet Devil. Now it's up to Astrid and the rest of the gang to save him. But can they all beat the man that turned even him to stone?**

…

He was overwhelming them without even trying.

As Astrid stood from another attack, he saw him throw Yuri and Zelos away with an energy blast huge enough to destroy the entire house. Standing up, she began to chant something under her breath.

"_**Flare Tornado!"**_

She tried her best to knock away Kiryll's statue away from Creed, but for some reason he would not let him go. As the fire swarmed around him, he knocked Astrid away to stop the spell, only to see Luke jump in the air over her head.

"_**Sonic Thrust!"**_

He threw rapid blade attacks at Star, which seemed to do some damage to him. He proceeded to throw Luke out of the way, sending him flying. Astrid, in her panic, threw herself toward him and was crushed between him and the wall.

"Dammit…!" Zelos cringed. "What the heck is this guy's problem? Our attacks keep bouncing off him!"

"You really have no idea, do you?" Star laughed. "I surpass you in every way possible!"

He jumped into the air as everything around him started to tighten. Anything that resembled stone crumbled to dust and warped around his figure, solidifying into rock itself. Before Astrid had a chance to react, Yuri jumped into the air and bashed him so hard that the stones recrumbled to dust.

"Ah." Star whacked him away. "You're learning."

"Hell, I am." Yuri looked toward the others. "That's the technique that turned us all the stone!"

"That…?" Luke stood up. "It almost feels like a Persona."

"Not bad." Star laughed. "You put me in the same category as Persona? How quaint. You don't know the half of it."

"Half of…what?" Astrid looked confused.

"Don't waste time, Star!" Edgar called from the sidelines. "Just get rid of them, already!"

"God, you really are annoying…"

Star began to concentrate, allowing the dust to turn back into stones. Everyone quickly went to attack before he turned his direction. Before their eyes, Edgar slowly turned to stone as he began to scream words of protest. Astrid tried her best not to scream.

"There you go. The bastard's finally silent." He turned toward them. "He's prone to bossing people around."

"You jerk…!" Zelos growled. "OK, I can understand that he's an arrogant _bastard,_ but that gives you no right to do that!"

"Admit it, you wanted it." Star laughed.

"OK fine. I'll say that. He's annoying."

Everyone was about to say something when they realized that no one had actually said it. That's when they noticed that there was another figure in the room, taking the presence of a young girl with green eyes…

"God, I figured they were talking about you…"

"Would you look at that." Yuri grinned. "Rita. Nice to see you alive and kicking."

"Yuri. I see you're getting in trouble yet again." She sighed. "And as for _you,_ Star. Just because you're a God General doesn't mean you can just carry your weight around! I thought that you guys had a leader or something!"

"Oh, you don't understand. This was an order." He grabbed Kiryll's statue. "Take the Wild Card alive. No more, no less."

"The Wild Card?" Stahn blinked… _Great, now the Order is on him._

"The Wild Card?" Rita looked confused. "But…that's a blastia core, isn't it?"

"Oh, you are so wrong." Star looked around. "Now that I got what I wanted, I believe that I should take my leave."

He jumped into the air, ready to leave. Rita, noticing that something weird was going on, immediately started conjuring up a Fireball spell. Oddly enough, the energy came faster and stronger than what she could do normally, and the Fireball spiraled through the air. It separated Creed away from the statue, sending him back. What startled everyone was that the statue was moving, the image of a humanoid bird flying around his white wings.

"Well well, the prince is finally up." Star laughed, landing on the nearby railing.

"I've been up, thank you very much." Kiryll spat, lifting up his tarot card. "Though I have to admit, it took longer than I thought to get out of it…"

"A petrify spell?" Rita turned toward Kiryll. "But that's impossible!"

"It is for him." He grinned at Star. "Hey, don't you think that you should retreat for now? I already have the counter spell for your petrify and even if you could counter it, you have about eight other souls on you."

"Always the smart one, aren't you?" Star looked around. "Yeah, I guess I can run. I'll be seeing you, Wild Card. Or should I call you Hanketsu?"

Before anyone could begin to question, he vanished into the dim light. Everyone looked at Kiryll, who was still holding the humanoid bird around him. He turned toward Edgar, who was still petrified in stone.

"Hanketsu…" Yuri blinked. "That means Judgment, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does." Kiryll answered, looking at his Persona. "Garuda, perhaps he doesn't deserve this. Stahn, hand me the cross. And while you're at it, contact Chat."

He took his necklace as Garuda removed the stone figure that Edgar was trapped in. As soon as he got out, Zelos and Luke quickly wrapped him up around the nearest pillar, despite his cries of protest. While that was going on, Rita turned toward Kiryll who had dismissed his Persona.

"My spell back then…" She started. "Was that you?"

"Well, not exactly." He answered with a smile. "That was actually Pyro Jack's doing."

"Pyro Jack…and Garuda?" She blinked in shock. "No way! The Wild Card, seriously?"

"Uh…yeah, that's me." He answered again. "Well, more like that's a title of mine."

"Wow…my hypothesis was wrong…" Rita looked back at him. "Come with me. Now!"

Before anyone had anything else to say, Rita grabbed Kiryll by the arm and dragged him out of the room. Stahn and Yuri looked at each other before following suit, Arche coming in soon after. The rest were left behind with big question marks and forced to watch over Edgar.

…

The long pull ended up right in front of a small building in the outskirts of town. She threw the door open, revealing an empty room with a large crystal figure in the middle and stuff thrown all about. On the other side of the room was a small library, but crammed with the most books he'd ever seen in such a small area. Rita dragged him further into the room.

"Talk to me." She ordered.

"Uh, well…" Kiryll was surprised. She was really pushy for being…smaller than him. "My name's Kiryll, and-"

"No, no, not about that!" She tapped his chest. "Those Persona…they aren't Summon Spirits at all. They hold a massive amount of mana, more than any blastia core than I've seen, and yet the process of summoning them is the same of using any type of spell. Are you a heron?"

"Yes." He answered, scared.

"That would explain the amount of mana that came from the Persona…but that doesn't explain your Wild Card status." Rita folded her arms. "Let me see your Cruxis Crystal."

Kiryll cringed, but not because he was going to expose it. Looking behind him _(and seeing nothing but his friends)_, he unbuttoned his collared shirt. Instantly, she grabbed his arm and started dragging him toward the nearby table, where there was a small round orb shining brightly.

_Is that the blastia core that this girl keeps talking about?_ He thought.

"Geez, he's not a movable dummy!" Stahn sighed. "Let him walk!"

"That's Rita." Yuri rolled his eyes.

He was pushed into place before Rita finally let go of his arm. Instantly, she grabbed the orb on the table and quickly positioned it next to his Cruxis Crystal. Much to everyone's surprise, both of them were glowing and emitting a strange aura as if they were in competition with each other.

"Hey, uh…what does that mean?" Stahn looked around to the others.

"Don't ask me." Yuri responded. "I'm not the science genius here."

"Incredible…your Cruxis Crystal has both of the formulas…" Rita backed up. "I knew that they could convert mana into a usable form, but this one in particular can convert aer…"

"Aer?" Stahn blinked. "What, like the thing we breathe in?"

"Well, that would explain the unlimited amounts that he can 'convert' or whatever the heck she's talking about." Arche shrugged.

"No, not that kind of aer. Geez, I hate dealing with people outside Terca Lumireis…" Rita walked toward them. "Aer affects everything around us, from our bodies to the weather. Too much exposure to that kind of aer could affect bodily functions up to the point where they stop working all together. Blastia cores such as the one on Yuri's arm and over there can convert aer to a power function that can be tolerated by humans."

"Does my Cruxis Crystal count as a blastia core?" Kiryll stared at it.

"No…and that's the factor I can't figure out." She turned back to him. "Cruxis Crystals don't have the formula to convert aer to anything, not mentioning mana. And despite the fact that blastia cores can convert aer, they don't have the means to make it mana. I don't know how in the world this one has it, but your Cruxis Crystal can not only convert aer to mana, it allows you to use it in larger amount of quantities than even half-elves."

"Whaaaaat?" Arche gawked. "That's crazy! I thought herons and half-elves use the same amount of mana!"

"That's the original idea." Rita stared at Kiryll, unnerving him. "But the formula that he has…can allow him to use mana at a much faster and greater rate than us. By what I saw back there, the minimum amount is at least four times the normal limit."

"Four times?" Stahn blinked. "God, I've seen Arche's craziest spells, and now you're telling me that he can cast something even BIGGER?"

"This Cruxis Crystal is the only reason why that is possible. Take it out and Kiryll is just another person." Rita explained. "What I can't quite understand is why your body hasn't caved into the massive amounts of mana that it's converting."

"What do you mean?" Kiryll blinked.

"Despite the fact that you're a heron, it takes a massive amount of resistance to handle mana that's being converted every second. I don't think even the most powerful herons on this planet could handle that amount of pressure." Rita looked at him. "The only way that could be true is if you have at least ten of those Cruxis Crystals on you."

"Hey, maybe this could be one of them." Stahn lifted up the Cross Necklace he had. "It turns into a weapon, you know. But only if you put mana in it, and only if you're Kiryll."

"That might be part of it." Kiryll stated. "But I might have another way."

Rita looked confused as Kiryll took his cross and transformed it into his scythe. Barely had she had the time to figure that out when he summoned a tarot card from the palm of his hand. After a few seconds of staring at the both of them, she darted straight up in surprise.

"Amazing…" She gasped. "This is burning up massive amounts of mana by the second…and that tarot card…"

"OK, Rita. You're going out of it again." Yuri snapped her back.

"Right…" She looked back at Kiryll. "The cross at your hand and that tarot card you're holding is burning massive amounts of mana per second. It's opposing the aer that is being converted into mana by your Cruxis Crystal."

"God, that's way too much for me…" Stahn held his head. "You're saying stuff that includes mana being made at a large amount and that that large amount is getting burned up or whatever the heck it's called…"

"I'm saying that this balance is the only reason why Kiryll hasn't died of a mana overload yet." Rita explained. "I need to find out how that's possible. I'm going to need you to stay here so that I can figure this out."

"Uh…th-that won't be possible…" Kiryll blinked. "You see, I work for a guild and I really have to go back to make sure that they don't freak out by my disappearance…"

"Fine, then I'm coming with you." Rita stepped forward. "That Cruxis Crystal has so much power in it that it holds the chance that it could collapse under the pressure. If it does that, then you're going to end up crystallizing like all other Cruxis-less herons."

Kiryll froze as Yuri sighed and shook his head. Arche and Stahn began to chuckle under their breaths at the amount of shock written all over his face.

"Y-yeah, I think that the idea of you joining us is a good idea." Kiryll chuckled.

"Hey, someone has to watch over you." Rita said. "And you three over there _(sorry to say this, Yuri)_ are not capable of doing so."

"HEY!" Stahn and Arche spat. "We can _**so**_ protect him!"

Kiryll stared as the three of them began to argue amongst themselves before he heard Rita's voice echo in her head, saying the same thing. He held his head in confusion as he noticed that the voice was changing…to a man.

…

_Kyra was walking around, lost. Just a few minutes ago, she had been following Lorelei to the next town where he was going to continue on his preaching. She was worried that he had purposely ditched her here._

"_Where could he have gone?" She muttered to herself. "He does know that I came here without any of my powers…"_

_A roar echoed behind her. Turning her head, she saw a Truncata and five Hannadread come from the bushes and charge toward her. Having no means to defend herself, she jumped out of the way of the on-coming attack. She didn't want to attack them, and instead began to run for it. Unfortunately, she was not used to her human legs. The monsters were able to take a good chunk out of her before she broke out of the area. Before she knew it, she hit the ground. Was she going to die here?_

_***SWISH***_

_Looking up she saw that an arrow had landed between her and the monsters. A leaf whistle echoed in the air, completely calming the monsters. Out of the trees, she noticed a shadow jump into the air and landing in front of her. The silky, purple hair had been tied back to that of a priest, complimenting the simple black robe that the person wore. There was a bow on the figure's back, but made no effort to draw it._

"_An __elf__…?" She stared in confusion._

"_That's enough…" It was a man. "Return to your homes. She means you no harm."_

_The monsters stared at the elf before turning around and leaving. He turned toward her, and that's when she noticed that he had the most beautiful purple eyes that she had ever seen. Instead of keeping eye contact, he instead went to her wounds. He lifted his hand and muttered under his breath, instantly healing her wounds._

"_Thank you…" She blinked._

"_It's nothing." He answered. His voice was soft and caring, different from what he sounded like before. "What were you doing in their nest anyway? You were just asking for them to attack you."_

"_I…I didn't know." She answered. "I was just lost. I was with a friend of mine, but I lost him…"_

"_I see." He held a smile on his face, making her heart beat faster. "You must be heading toward Ozette then."_

"_Yes…that's the city that we were headed towards." Kyra noted._

"_I know that place well." He stood and extended his hand. "I'll show you the pathway so that you won't walk through the nesting grounds."_

_It was then that she realized that she was still on the ground. She panicked before taking his hand and him pulling her straight up. He laughed at her clumsiness before turning to walk away. She jumped before heading off after him._

"_My name's Kyra…" She blurted out. "What's your name?"_

"…" _He turned in a way that made the whole world stop. "Kanata."_

…

"Kiryll? Are you OK?"

He blinked before noticing that everyone had been staring him for the past few seconds. He slapped his face before he smiled, the only way to tell them that he's fine. Everyone shrugged it off and they all walked out of the room to head toward the guild. Fortunately for them, they had landed inside the city to pick up Edgar. Leon and Astrid were there as Kiryll walked onto the ship, and they flew out into the air.

_**-SKIT: Kanata the Elf-**_

_Yuri was minding his own business in the ship hallway when he saw Kiryll staring out into the sky, staring outside the window. It wasn't long before a few others noticed the same thing. Soon, a whole crowd was around Kiryll. Yet it was only Arche that confronted him._

"_Kiryll, are you sure you're OK?"_

"_Huh?" He blinked. "What's wrong, Arche?"_

"_You, obviously." Stahn said. "You've been zoning out ever since we left Aspio. Did Rita do something to you?"_

"_I wouldn't be surprised." Leon said. "Rita has a way of conducting experiments inside that lab of hers. She must've done something to you."_

"_No, it isn't her." Kiryll turned around and leaned on the wall. "It's just that…back in the lab, I remembered someone…"_

"_Did you actually get a name?" Yuri asked._

"_Spill the name!" Arche grinned. "We might be able to track them down!"_

"…" _Kiryll smiled and gave out a sigh. "Kanata."_

"_Kanata?" Zelos blinked. "Hey, sounds like someone that lives around Mizuho. Human, right?"_

"_He's an elf." Kiryll answered. "I don't know why, but…when I met him as Kyra…I couldn't get him out of my mind."_

"_Out of…your mind?" Yuri looked amused. "What, like he haunts you or something?"_

"_Um, maybe. I don't get it either, since I have memories of other people. But…I feel closer to this man." He held his chest. "Like, every time that I'm with him, I want to stay there. He didn't seem too bothered by my presence either, so I figured that he might've felt the same way. What does that mean?"_

_***A few minutes of complete silence***_

"_**OH MY GOD, ARE YOU SERIOUS?"**_

"_**DUDE,**__ what the hell? I thought you were straight!"_

_Kiryll stared as both Arche and Stahn leave the hallway traumatized. Confused, Kiryll followed suit, still oblivious to what they were thinking. It was only then that Leon and Yuri noticed that they were alone._

"_So…Kanata." Yuri jumped in._

_**-END-**_

**I finally updated! I know, end of the filler section! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!**


	23. The Town of Ozette

**After Astrid saves them, Kiryll and his friends are now able to continue on their guild jobs. But now with Kiryll's memories slowly returning and the startling conclusion that now the Order of Lorelei is now after him, there's going to be hell to pay once everything sums itself up.**

…

As Kiryll entered the station room, he noticed that the three of them were already there. Yuri and Arche seemed to be OK, but Stahn still seemed a bit traumatized from what happened before. Ignoring that, he started to jump through the jobs.

"Are you looking for one in particular?" Chat asked.

"Somewhere near the Mizuho and the Ozette area." He answered.

"You're going to go find this Kanata boy, aren't you?" Arche laughed.

"It's the only solid lead I have about my past." Kiryll responded. "I can't help but take a look at it."

"Can't complain with him there." Yuri grinned. "Hey, pay attention there. You missed one."

"Oh, I see it."

Stahn got the machine and started scanning backward. The job called for a simple crafting mission: make a quilt with down feathers. The best part was that it was in Ozette, right in the middle of the memory. Kiryll grinned.

"This is perfect." He nodded.

"Hey, uh, question." Arche blinked. "Does anyone here know how to _make_ a quilt?"

"…I don't." Kiryll answered.

"I can't sew for my life." Stahn admitted.

"Hey, don't look at me. I'm just along for the ride." Yuri laughed.

"So…no one can achieve this mission." Kiryll looked down. "Great."

"Is…something wrong?"

Everyone looked up from their positions to see Mint standing at the doorway, a look of concern on her face. Kiryll tried to play it off by rescanning the machines, while everyone else decided that it was something he wanted.

"We just realized that no one could knit for their lives." Arche chirped.

"What a way to keep it under wraps, Arche." Yuri sighed.

"Couldn't you just take another job?" Mint asked.

"Yeah, we would." Stahn decided that it was too late to hide back now. "But the location of where the mission is being held is the only solid lead Kiryll has when it comes to his memories. He wanted to go there to take a look."

"Oh, I see." She went to the mission board. "What's the mission?"

"Just make a quilt…of down feathers." Stahn shrugged.

"I can do that." Mint turned to Kiryll. "We'll go to Ozette. I'll do the mission while you go look for your memory."

"Really, that's too much to ask-"

"No it isn't. I like sewing." Mint smiled. "I'll be fine. And I have plenty of down feathers from my last mission."

"…Thank you."

_**-SKIT: Just Before We Go…-**_

"_Hey, Kiryll. I want to talk to you for a sec."_

"_Hm?" He turned to see Yuri looking at him. "What's up?"_

"_What are you going to do when you meet up with Kanata?" Yuri asked. "I mean, judging by what you saw in your memory, you had to be a female, right?"_

"_Yes, I was." Kiryll blinked. "Oh, you think that I should look for him as Kyra, right?"_

"_Not unless you want to scare this poor guy reckless." Yuri chuckled. "If you're going to look for someone, you might as well make sure that you don't scare them while you're at it."_

"_Don't worry, I'm prepared." Kiryll smiled. "I'll change once we get there."_

_**-END-**_

As the ship landed near Ozette, everyone walked downward into the area. Kyra was the first to leave the ship, looking around at the shacks and grassy meadows that spread throughout the area. It looked like a natural place, filled with flowers and trees.

_Kanata would've liked something like this._ Kyra smiled.

"We might as well meet up with the client first." Stahn pointed out. "Come on, Kyra. Keep a level head here."

"Yeah…" Kyra nodded. She had all the time she needed.

The client wasn't a big deal. It was just a family that needed a blanket for the children. As they left Mint to handle herself, the four of them met up in front of the house. Despite what Kyra thought, no one was paying any attention to them.

"Huh, and here I thought these guys would be a little iffy on total strangers." Stahn looked around.

"_Hey, uh…does anyone here know about…"_ Arche looked around.

"Don't worry about it. I've been here before." Yuri grinned. "This is the one 100% human residence that has a tolerance of half-elves. I guess they tolerate us because we're guild members on a mission."

"Yeah." Kyra nodded, "We'll split up. Ask for a man named Kanata. He's an elf, so you'll be able to notice him."

"An elf…what, like half-elf?" Stahn asked.

"No." She answered. "Full blooded."

"Wow." Yuri blinked. "That makes things easier. So then, let's start."

…

Despite the fact that she had a name and a face to seek out, no one in the village seemed to know about Kanata. Determined, she wouldn't let up. She would ask anyone that she thought she hadn't asked before. Before she knew it, she found herself asking the same person twice in the same half hour about the same question. However, she had slowly regained more of her memory.

_I don't know why, but I'm remembering him faster than anything else._ She smiled. _My connection with Guede…the Sacred Pentagram…I have so many questions about my past that I don't even know where to begin. Yet, whenever I think about him, I feel as if I don't have to worry anymore. Kanata…I'm coming._

She wandered around the city and began to scan the trees, wondering if she would be able to see anyone jump through. A memory jumped up in her mind, reminding her on how fast Kanata could jump through the trees while he was on a hunting trip. She was always so impressed on his expert skills. Her heart began to beat faster.

"You are new here."

She turned around and saw a young girl standing in front of her. She had pink hair that spiked out in her pigtails, contrasting the black outfit that she was wearing. Her blue eyes didn't seem to hold any form of light in them, startling Kyra.

"Y-yes, I'm new here." She responded. "My name is Kyra."

"…Hello." She answered. She seemed…dead.

"Oh, um…" Kyra blinked. "I want to ask you something. Do you know of a person named Kanata? Long purple hair…has ears of an elf?"

"I do not know of who you speak of." The girl said in a robotic tone. "However, I have seen him before."

"You…have?" Her eyes darted open. "That's great! Can you show me where I can find him?"

"Yes. Follow me."

The girl walked away in a normal pace, forcing Kyra to follow. As she walked alone in the quiet forest, her mind began to race with thoughts. Half of her asked herself if she should get the others, but in the end decided not to.

_God, I'm finally going to see him again…what should I do? _She panicked. _Does he have answers to my past? Maybe I told him about Guede and how he's after me…or…wait, what does he even know? Does he know that I'm actually a man? Maybe I should tell him that-_

"We're here."

Kyra looked up from where she was standing and noticed that she had been led inside of a dilapidated shrine covered with moss. The girl walked ahead a few more feet until she was on top of a hill. Kyra followed suit and realized that there was a carved piece of rock on top of it.

It was a gravestone. With Kanata's name on it.

"I found this…while out in the woods." The girl said. "It looks old…almost like ten centuries…"

_A thousand years? He's been dead for that long…?_

Kyra walked up to the tomb and knelt in front of it. The name was exactly as she thought it would look like. It was him. Kanata was dead. She leaned on the stone, saddened by a man whom she had never met. Voices echoed behind her, darting her head up.

"OW! God, this place had to be covered…"

"It's called old for a reason, you know. You really have to stop complaining."

"Please, like we haven't done anything as out-of-place as this!"

_That's…everyone._ "Guys, we're over here!"

The rustling ended, and she saw the three of them emerge from the entrance. They noticed that Kyra was on the ground in front of something and ran up to them. Arche was the first person to meet up to her.

"You got a lead?" Arche looked up to the stone. "Oh…"

"What's going on?" Stahn headed up to them. "Hey, what are you…oh."

Yuri was the last to join them. Instead of saying anything, he ended up looking at the tomb instead. Everyone stood there in a few minutes of silence before Kyra finally found the strength to turn her head up.

"He was the only lead I had to knowing who I was." She wiped her tears.

"We know." Arche crouched next to her. "Don't worry. We're going to find out what happened to him."

"Don't expect it to be easy. This grave's over a thousand years old." Yuri looked at it.

"But we're going to be looking for it, right?" Stahn grinned. "Man, this is _better_ than ordinary guild work!"

"Screw the fact that it's not going to be easy." Arche shot up. "We're going to find the answer, no matter what!"

"All right then. I'm just asking." Yuri smiled. "We'll find out about what happened in your past."

"Thank you." Kyra smiled back.

"Why do you bother looking into the past? There's nothing for you to change once you find out the dirty little secrets."

Everyone jumped up to their feet to see another figure emerge from the shadows. The man walked out, sporting long, dark red hair and piercing green eyes, contrasting the black and red robe that covered his figure.

"Luke…?" Kyra stood up. "What are you doing here?"

"That's not Luke!" Arche gasped. "It's a God General! One of the Original Six, Asch the Bloody!"

"Glad to see that you know me." The guy was sarcastic. "But I'm not here to waste time. I'm here for the Wild Card. Come on, I know you're hiding him somewhere!"

"W-Wild Card?" Stahn blinked. "Don't you mean-"

"What makes you think that we know where it is?" Yuri grabbed his mouth to keep him quiet. He gave Kyra a look saying _we can handle this. Just don't say anything._ "We're not his body guards, you know."

"You're part of his guild. Don't you all keep a close connection to each other?" Asch seemed to say it like it was a command.

"Like hell. He loves running around minding his own business." Yuri's hand was still squeezing on Stahn's face. "We don't even know where he goes."

"…tch. Great." Asch turns around. "Don't think this is the last time that we meet. I'll find him. You can't hide him forever."

Just as quickly as he had arrived, Asch left into the shadows. It was only then that Yuri allowed his hand to lower from Stahn's' face. He began to gag and sputter for air as the others turned toward him.

"_**THANKS**_, man! A nudge in the back would've done the same thing!" Stahn gagged.

"That still wouldn't have worked." Yuri turned toward Kyra. "Well, at least no one knows about your other form."

"Yeah…" Kyra laughed nervously. "Either that or he's been misinformed."

"Other…form?"

Oh crap. The other girl was in the room with them. Everyone turned toward her, who was standing there with a blank look on her face. _Well…no way to walk out of this one._ He summoned a card and turned back into a male.

"You're a…man." She looked surprised…enough.

"Yeah, sorry about that." He knelt toward her. "I was planning on meeting a friend of mine, and he only knew me in that form. I hope I haven't traumatized you."

"…You looked better as a woman."

**PWNED**

"Don't feel so shocked, Kiryll." Arche laughed. "That's actually a compliment."

"Is that so…" Kiryll laughed. "Let me make this up to you. My name is Kiryll Nightroad, member of the guild Ad Libitum."

"Ad…Libitum?" The girl blinked. "You must know him then."

"Him?" Kiryll blinked. "Can you be more descriptive?"

"A man…Lloyd Irving." She answered.

"Oh yeah, I know him." Kiryll smiled. "He's part of Ad Libitum, in fact. Do you want to meet up with him?"

"Yes." She answered, a little more soulful.

"All right then. We go." Stahn grinned. "Mint should be done with her mission, anyway!"

"That's true!" Arche remarked. "OK then! I lead the way!"

As they started to leave the shrine, Kiryll turned back toward the grave in front of him. He touched the gravestone yet again and smiled a sad smile. The moss on it was cold to the touch, yet it was warmer than what he had thought it was before.

"Are you leaving, or what?"

"Huh? Oh…Yuri." Kiryll turned back to the grave. "Sorry, I just…remembered him while I was here."

"Like your memory was coming back?" He looked interested.

"Most of it. I still don't remember much, but the ones that I do remember involved Kanata." Kiryll grinned. "I actually remembered one…just before I came here."

"Really?" Yuri grinned. "What was it about?"

…

"_We're…leaving?"_

"_Yes, Kyra." The red-headed young man told her. "The Hunters are at our trail. Staying here is going to put the whole village in danger."_

"_But-"_

"_I will pack up in the inn. Tomorrow we are going to meet up with Yulia and travel toward the Order. I'll see you at the inn."_

_Lorelei left the forest, leaving Kyra found herself in a stage of confusion. Yes, she had descended onto this world to protect him from Hunters, even though she held no powers of her own. But now she doesn't want to leave Ozette. Still, her duty goes before her wants._

"_You are leaving here?"_

_She darted her head around and saw Kanata standing right behind her, a look of concern on his face. He walked up toward her and wiped her cheek, and that's when she realized that she had been crying out of nowhere._

"_Yes. My friend is leaving tomorrow morning, and it's my duty to protect him from Hunters." She looked down, unable to look at him in the eye. "I have to go with him."_

"_I know you have to leave this place. I'm not stupid." Kanata smiled. "But what happens if you have to protect yourself? Remember when we first met up? You couldn't fight to save your life."_

"_Huh, what?" Her face went red. _

"_Your duty is to protect your friend. Have you ever thought about anyone that should be protecting you?"_

"_Well, uh…" She rubbed her arm. "I was so concerned about his safety that I haven't even thought about mine."_

"_Good thing that I'm here then." He let her go. "Is it possible for me to come with you?"_

"_Wha…wha…wha?" She stammered._

"_I don't have a problem with it." A voice echoed out of nowhere._

"_Wha-?" She turned around. "Ah, L-Lorelei!"_

"_No wonder you were hesitant of leaving." He walked up toward the elf with a smile on his face. "What's your name?"_

"_It's Kanata, sir." He bows._

"_I see…an elf. If you can protect yourself as well as Kyra, you're more than welcome to come with us. Is that going to be a problem, Kyra?"_

"_Uh…n-no." Kyra stammered through some mumbles. "I don't mind."_

"_You are too kind, sir." He smiled._

"_My name is Lorelei." He responded. "Come. We should prepare for our trip."_

…

"I…see…so Kanata had left the village with you." Yuri folded his arms. "You think you might be able to find out more about him?"

"I hope so." Kiryll nodded. "Once I remember everything, I'll return to this place. This time with a proper greeting."

"I'm sure he'll like that." Yuri turned around. "Now come on. The others are probably pissed at the fact that we're keeping them waiting."

"Yeah…"

…

The both of them were able to meet up with the guys back in Ozette. Mint was there, holding the spoils from the mission, wondering how his search went. He decided that he was going to tell her while they were on the ship. Once the ship came, Kiryll was the last to board. Looking back, he eyed the pathway that he had walked on.

_I'll come back for you, Kanata. _He thought. _I'll be able to face you again…_

…

**So…guess who's the girl?**


	24. The Arsonist Case

**I should be working on studying for finals…what the heck? Oh well, I guess I can update one more chapter. Then I really have to study!**

…

When the girl came onto the ship, she was looking around like finding Lloyd was the most important thing for her to do. Confused, all they could do was follow her. When they crossed the lobby, Kiryll couldn't help but notice that Emil and Kanonno were sitting nearby.

"Hey." He walked to the both of them. "Have you guys seen Lloyd around? We're looking for him."

"Lloyd? He went for a mission while you were gone." Kanonno answered. "Though it's a short mission and he left a long time ago, so he should be back."

"Why are you looking for him?" Emil asked.

"There's a girl here that's looking for him." He answered. "Small girl, pink hair, carries an axe around?"

"Presea?" He stood up. "Why would she be looking for Lloyd?"

"I didn't even know her name up until now." Kiryll truthfully answered. "Well, at least we can wait until Lloyd gets home. I'll tell him about her."

"Oh yeah, by the way, I heard that there was someone you knew back in Ozette!" Kanonno chirped. "Did you find him?"

"I found his grave…" He answered.

"Oh…I'm sorry." She slinked back down.

"No, it's OK. I thought he was alive too. But his death opens up a thousand more questions that I didn't even think about it." Kiryll looked at them. "First of all, by the condition of where he was buried, he would've been dead for hundreds of years. I'm only eighteen."

"Maybe you're daydreaming." Kanonno proposed. "The mind works in weird ways, maybe it's giving you images that you're thinking are memories."

"Well, if that's true…it should at least be somewhat accurate…"

The elevator clicked, and four people walked out of it, one of them he immediately identified as Lloyd. Before he was able to react, the girl Emil called Presea came out of nowhere and walked up the stairs toward him, the three others following quickly behind. Lloyd blinked in reaction.

"Presea?" He grinned. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here because I have news from Meltokio." She stated. "The Vanguard had attacked the capital a week ago."

"Vanguard?" Emil darted up to his feet.

"What are they doing there?" Lloyd growled. "Was anyone hurt?"

"No one that can be saved." Presea answered.

"Damn…" Lloyd looked at everyone in the room. "I'm heading there right now. Presea, Emil, Arche, round up the others and tell them to come with us."

"Can we come too?" One of his companions asked. Kiryll recognized the person to be Farah.

"This is strictly between Sylvarant and Tethe'alla." Lloyd turned to her. "I'm sorry, Farah. But for now, we can't get anyone else involved."

Before anyone could respond to anything, everyone that Lloyd talked to was out of the room. Everyone else looked at each other, unable to say basically anything. Shrugging, some of them left to go mind their own business.

"That was…random." Kiryll blinked.

"Doesn't Lloyd understand that the Vanguard is _everyone's_ problem?" Stahn stated. "First of all, they're filled with _HUNTERS_."

"We can't stop him now. He's on a stubborn streak." Yuri answered. "We might as well just continue on with our missions."

"Well, since my party left…" Kanonno stood up. "Can I join you?"

"I don't see why not." Kiryll answered with a smile. "Come on."

…

When they came to the mission room, they saw Astrid there with her group _(consisting of Rita, Guy and Leon)_. Chat was there as well, but she was staring just as lazily as the others, waiting for a good mission to either appeal to them or call out.

"Hey, Astrid." Kiryll walked toward her. "Anything good?"

"All of them are crafting missions or ones that other people took." She answered. "Nothing else had come up, so we decided to wait here for something."

"Seriously? Is this all guild members _**DO**_ around here?" Rita stood up. "I thought we'd be doing something interesting."

"That's only when we get a mission around here." Guy explained. He sounded like he did it before. "We're still small, so we don't get a lot of jobs."

"Wow…" She sighed. "I'm just close to leaving. Now."

"Wait…hold on." Kiryll grabbed the scanner and flipped it back a couple of times. "This one looks new."

"Huh?" Astrid looked. "It just got posted a few seconds ago…"

"Are you kidding me? That's old news." Stahn peeked over their shoulders. "Random fires happening in Izoold, caused by a crazy arsonist on the loose! Guys, they already got the person! Just ignore it or something."

"No way." Rita jumped up. "Mission or not, I've had it with just sitting here. I'm getting out of this ship, and there's NO way anyone here can say otherwise!"

"Oh well." Yuri shrugged. "We might as well go then."

_**-SKIT: Guy's Got Problems-**_

"_All right then…" Guy was looking around in his bag. "I have a few extra gels…what else am I missing?"_

"_Ah, Guy." Jade looked up from where he was walking. "Going on a mission, I see._

"_Yeah, and I'll tell ya, it's a nice change of pace." He grinned, slinging the bag over his shoulders. "But knowing the guys that I'm with, we're going to run out of items before we actually need them."_

"_Guuuuuuuuy!" Norma walked in from nowhere. "I wanna get an orange gel for my next mission! Do you have any?"_

_She accidentally bumps into his back, causing him to scream like a nutjob and fly into the air, away from her. His screaming catches Arche, Rutee, and Mint's attention, causing them to walk in on him as well. He ends up flattening himself across the door, where Luke ran in the hallway._

"_Guy?" Luke panicked. "What's going on?"_

"_Don't ask me!" Norma sighed. "I just bumped into his back and he just FLEW."_

"_Oh…" Luke sighed. "Guy doesn't like women."_

"_What, like Kiryll?" Arche shivered. "God, I understand the policy of __**diversity**__, but I thought people were under __WRAPS__ about stuff like that!"_

"_No, no, not like that." Jade grinned. "It's more on the lines of a phobia."_

"_Oh…he's TERRIFIED of women…" Rutee grinned. "Oh, we can handle that. Ready girls?"_

_Arche, Rutee and Norma all tackled onto Guy. He screamed again before getting chased down the hallway. Luke was worried for his wellbeing, so he chased after the mob, leaving Mint and Jade alone to absorb the shock._

"_Shouldn't we help Guy?" She asked._

"_He can handle himself." Jade propped his glasses. "Who knows? He might actually be having a little fun."_

"_F-fun…?"_

_**-END-**_

The city of Izoold was a lot prettier than they thought. Being a port city, the ship was able to land safely without destroying anything. The eight of them slowly walked out of the ship and wandered around the ports, while the nearby marketplace was bumbling and the nearby shack houses were being repaired.

"Wow, look at all of this." Kanonno grinned. "This place is just thriving with goods!"

"They don't call this a port town for nothing." Yuri answered. "Too bad most of these are scams, though…"

"So who are we looking for?" Guy turned toward everyone. "The guy who assigned the mission, right?"

"Yeah." Kiryll answered. "According to the file, he's at the jailhouse, just a few minutes up. It shouldn't be too hard to find."

A bright light came out of nowhere a few feet away before that section burst into flames. Everyone jumped in response as the people around them began to splash all the water onto it, trying to make it stop. They began to crowd toward the flames.

"That's…huge!" Kanonno gasped. "That's no Fireball spell!"

"This is child's play." Rita began to mutter under her breath. _**"Aqua Spiral!"**_

The water bubble was quick to stop the flames. Once the fire was gone, everyone stood there to see just how bad the fire was on the set, and realized that there were soot piles all over the place, even inland.

"Wow…" Kiryll blinked. "This arsonist is something else…"

"Yeah, he must be doing it at a rapid pace." Kanonno looked around. "No one seems the least bit phased by it!"

"Which means we better stop it then!" Stahn grinned. "Toward the jailhouse!"

They wandered through the town _(trying to make sure that no one gets distracted by the random soot scattered all over the place)_ when they finally found the jail. Everyone expected it to be a building, but it was in fact an indentation of a cave inside _**a hill**_.

"Well, that's creative." Stahn grinned. He walked toward the manager. "Excuse me, sir. We're here as a response to your request about an arsonist?"

"_God, and you said that this was a waste of time…"_ Rita and Leon muttered.

"Oh, you're here for that mission? Sorry, sir, but we don't need help." The guy answered. "We already caught him a half-hour ago."

"Half an hour ago?" Stahn sighed. "Aw…come on…"

"That's a contradiction." Leon folded his arms. "There was just a fire a few minutes ago."

"That's impossible." The man said. "We still have the perpetrator inside!"

"Then he's capable of using long-distance spells. That's not too weird to think about." Guy said. "Can we take a look at this guy?"

"Sure, be my guest." He answered. "Just be careful around him. The guy's a monster…"

"M-mons-ster?" Kanonno shivered.

"M-maybe that's just exaggeration…" Kiryll laughed nervously. "Come on, let's go."

…

The inside of the jail was just as cold and dank as any cavern should be. At the corner was a guy at a desk signing papers, and on the other side was a dark jail. It was so dark that no one can see if anyone was inside it.

"Hey, are you sure that he's still in there?" Rita asked. "I can't see anything."

"He hadn't left his cell." The guard said. "He's been quiet ever since he got in."

"You sure he isn't dead?" Rita asked again.

Kiryll and Astrid both walked toward the cell and peeked inside, trying to see if there would be any movement in the shadows. However, they didn't even see an outline of anything past a couple of barrels and the cold wall on the other side.

"Hey, what does he look like anyway?" Yuri asked the guard. "We can't really see anything past the dinky light here."

"Oh, he looks like a _**monster**_." The guard shivered. "You two shouldn't be standing that close to the cage. It's the only thing keeping you from his brute strength."

"Brute…strength?" Kiryll blinked.

"But…I don't see anyone in there." Astrid turned back to the group. "Is he really still in there?"

It was then that the shadows began to move, and a figure began to hover behind the cage. The figure was that of a muscular man, with green pants and a tight white shirt and long flowing blue hair. Kiryll and Astrid both stared at the extremely startled group that was staring at the cage.

"What?" Kiryll blinked. "What's going on?"

Since no one else had the capacity to move, Leon calmly _(meaning half as much shock as the others)_ lifted his hand and pointed. The both of them turned and saw the massive figure that was staring right at them. Instantly they screamed bloody murder and hid behind Stahn, who was shivering from shock himself. Before anyone knew it, they were running out the jailhouse.

_**-SKIT: Monster in the Cell-**_

"_Good Christ, did you __**SEE**__ that guy?" Guy panicked. "Was he even human?"_

"_I didn't see a Cruxis Crystal on him." Stahn said, out of breath. "And by the looks of it, he was no half-elf!"_

"_Are you kidding me?" Yuri shivered. "There are no half-elves with muscles that big!"_

"_You guys are insane." Rita shook her head. "Kong has the same mass as this guy does. You shouldn't be scared that easily."_

"_Says the girl who was the first person out the door!" Stahn said._

"_OK, so maybe talking to the arsonist probably isn't a good idea…" Kiryll sighed. "Anyone else got any plans?"_

"_We do Plan 2: ask around the city." Kanonno said. "If all of these fires started from the same guy, they should have the same pattern right?"_

"_Yeah….though I think that he was the one who did it, hands down." Guy shivered._

"_I'm with you." Kiryll sighed. "OK, we'll split up and ask around. We'll meet here in about an hour."_

_Everyone nodded and split up, heading towards different sections of the town. Meanwhile, Astrid stood alone in the middle of the small space, right in front of the jail cell. She mumbled for a few minutes before taking a deep breath._

"_I can do this…" She muttered._

_**-END-**_

Astrid shivered as she reentered the prison cell. The guard was looking at her for a few minutes before shrugging and returning back to work. She assumed that he wasn't a good prison guard and continued to walk toward the jail, her hand squeezing the life out of the staff in her hands. Before she knew it, she was in front of the jail.

_This is it…_ She thought. _No turning back._ "E-excuse me…a-are you still…i-in there? Um…I'm alone now. My…companions…aren't here…"

There was complete silence, except for the rapid beating of her pulse and her panicked breaths. As predicted, he came out of the shadows and now loomed over her. However, he did so slowly, as if he didn't want to scare her as he did before. She felt sweat running down her face.

"W-we're here…b-because of the uh…fires…that are going around…the uh…city…" She admitted it. She was downright terrified of this guy. It sucked though because she couldn't hide it.

"I apologize for my earlier behavior." His voice was freakishly deep!

"W-wh-wha-what?" She stammered.

"I didn't mean to scare all of you like that. I hope you can forgive me."

She stood there in shock, but not because the guy was humongous and seemingly had the ability to rip the entire cavern in half and kill her. Despite what she thought about him before, he was such a gentleman! She felt a bit of her nerves calm down.

"Y-you're forgiven…" She answered with a calmer voice. "At least, I forgive you. I don't know about the others."

"Of course. I'll see that I properly apologize to them later." He nodded. "Now then, you said that you were here because of the fires."

"Yes, well…me and my companions are." She nodded. "The people said that they didn't need our help because they think you're the actual criminal. We just wanted to see if you needed to be further…detained."

"What do you think?"

"Huh?"

"Your voice is wavering." The man said. "You're thinking about something else."

"…well, I thought that you might've been the criminal." Astrid said. "But now I see that you couldn't possibly be the culprit. You don't have the air of one…at least, that's what I see."

"I can understand what you might've been thinking of when you came to that decision, but yes, I am not the criminal." He said. "I just happened to be at the place on one of the fires."

"You were there?" Her eyes widened. Eye witness testimony! "Can you tell me what you remember?"

"Of course. I was in one of the shacks helping a friend of mine move seafood gels a while back. When I turned my head, I was blinded by this bright light. It was so intense that I passed out almost immediately. When I came to, the building was on flames, and my friend was out." He looked down. "I was able to get ourselves out in time…"

"…and that's when you got arrested." Astrid summarized.

"Correct." He answered. "That is my side of the story. You are free to believe whatever you want."

"I believe you." She stated. "And I'll prove to everyone that you're innocent of this crime too! Don't worry, just leave everything to me!" _Wow, Astrid. What claims you got there._ "O-oh! By the way…my name is Astrid. Astrid Rosen. Can I get your name?"

"…Regal."

"Regal…all right. Just wait for me."

She backed up for a few seconds before she ran out of the room.

…

**OK, that's it! I have to do final exams!**


	25. Looking for the Cure

…**OK, I don't care. If this comes out before finals, then I'll keep going. If not, then I actually studied for them.**

**WARNING:**** If anyone takes any offense to what is going to be mentioned in the following chapter, please mention it right now. I'm just saying it for the sake of saying that I said it. You'll get it later.**

…

"Um…excuse me." She said to the man at the door. "When you found the arsonist, was he with someone else?"

"Huh?" He turned to her. "Yeah, why?"

"May I speak with him?" She asked. "I believe that it might help me make up my mind about something."

"His house is over there, but I doubt that you'll get much out of him." The guard shrugged. "Ever since the fire, he's been out cold. No one can wake him up."

"Oh. I see." _Maybe my healing artes can help him…_

She bowed to him before heading on her way. The soot piles were all over the place at this point, making it near impossible for anyone to walk around without getting soot on their shoes. After a few long minutes of soot jumping, she finally found the house. The door was unopened _(for some odd reason)_ allowing her easy access. Inside, she found a person lying down on the nearby bed, unmoving as though he was dead.

_Is that the friend Regal was talking about?_

She walked up to him and knelt by his side. After a few minutes, she stood up and tried a healing arte. Then another. Then another. It was around that time that she actually figured out that whatever she was doing was not working at all.

"What exactly are you doing?"

"Huh?" She jumped and turned around. "O-oh…Leon. I was just-"

"Last time I checked, asking around doesn't mean hijacking houses that are empty." He entered, contradicting his statement. "Who's that guy?"

"He was a victim of one of the fires." Astrid turned to the victim before turning back to Leon. "He's the only way to get the real culprit."

"The real culprit?" Leon folded his arms. "He's in the dungeons right now as we speak."

"No, not Regal!" She argued. "No, it was someone else. He's the only one who can prove that."

"…" Leon made no move to ask how she knew of the man's name. "Let me see him."

Astrid moved out of the way as Leon slowly walked over toward the person. He knelt over his body and stared at him for a few minutes in complete silence, something that Astrid found extremely unnerving to say the least.

"Healing artes don't work on him." She told him. "I tried all the spells that I know."

"I see…" Leon stood up. "It's poison."

"P-poison?" Astrid blinked. "Well then an Antidote should work on him, right?"

"No, this is something else." He turned to her. "This isn't human made. By the looks of it, it's the work of a light-frog."

"Light-frog? I thought the name was nazdrovie." She tilted her head. "I've heard of something like that before."

"Yes, the actual name is the nazdrovie, but only monster experts use that term." Leon explained. "It has the ability to absorb high amounts of energy taken by an outside source such as sunlight or body heat and release it in a burst of light and heat. I've seen it myself once. The energy was enough to knock out anything close to it."

"Light…heat…those lights!" Astrid gasped. "Of course! Regal mentioned how a light knocked him out! Leon, do you think that this light-frog can be the real arsonist?"

"It's likely." Leon turned to her. "But it's a little strange for it to be here. Nazdrovie live near Flanoir, and that's not even close to here."

"Could there be any way for it to come to this city?" Astrid asked.

"The only way I can think about is through a trade route. Izoold and Flanoir both hold trade routes to each other. Being an amphibian, it must've boarded a cargo ship and flourished in this climate." Leon turned back to the man. "It'll be hard to find a cure for this poison, though. This one's the most unique, since it's a viral infection than an actual venom."

"Oh…so my spells or Antidotes won't work." She sighed. "There should be something."

"Rosemary works on it." Leon answered. "But the only place that it goes on this continent is about five miles off."

"That's not so bad! I have plenty of rosemary on the ship!" She chirped. "We should get some from there. Since Chat is restocking on supplies, it should still be in the city!"

"All right." Leon folded his arms. "I'll wait here for you."

"Of course." She turned to head out.

"Actually…before you go, I have something to ask you." He looked serious. "The man in the prison cell…how did you get his name?"

"I…asked him about it." She answered. "Regal is a nice guy. He's just intimidating, that's all. He's innocent, I know it."

"…Fine. Just go."

…

As predicted, the ship was still in Izoold's shores. She jumped onto the ship as cargo was being piled in and headed straight for the kitchen. The rosemary was just where she would leave it, untouched, making it easy access for her to get.

"What are you doing here? Last time I checked, you had a mission."

She darted her head around to find Luke standing there where the door was. Instantly, her face went completely red. He walked over toward her and noticed the rosemary that was in her hand. He stared back at her in confusion.

"I thought you had an arsonist problem?" He blinked.

"Oh, well, this is to prove someone's innocence." She answered. "Light-frog poison. This is the only way to cure it."

"I see." Luke nodded. "Well then, you should probably check on the victim before something bad happens."

"R-right!"

Before she knew it, her feet were flying out of the door. Her face was so red that she could literally hear the heart beat in her cheeks. Yet out of all the emotions flying out of her, she couldn't help but believe that she had felt this, so long ago…

…

Instantly, she found herself flying back to the house. Fortunately, Leon had kept his promise and stayed there with him. He looked up from where he stood and saw her, and quietly moved out of the way, allowing her to work. She began to sprinkle it over the man's nose, which instantly brought him back to consciousness.

"He's awake." Leon nodded. "So it was light-frog poisoning."

"Who are you?" The man sat up.

"O-oh, right. My name is Astrid, and that's Leon." She pointed at him. "You were poisoned by a light-frog, so we gave you an antidote."

"I see…" The man nodded. "I thank you for helping me."

"There's no thanks needed." She bowed. "Now then…did the fires start by the light-"

"It was started by this strange frog that gave off this huge burst of light." The man answered. "It ate up all of my seafood gels, and then set the other crates on fire!"

"So, at least we can conclude that it was a frog that started the fires." Leon nodded. "And not the man that's in the prison as we speak."

"There's a man in there? Oh man, I better go to the jail right away then and clear his name!"

"Wai-" She paused. "He's gone."

"He's quick for someone who just woke out of unconsciousness." Leon blinked. "Oh, now I remember that guy."

"You know him?" Astrid was confused.

"Yeah. His name is Berg, a local gel merchant." Leon nodded. "When I met him, Rutee was trying to scam him out of a thousand gald for a Lens she found."

_Oh…wow._ She blinked. "Well, it's been about an hour. We should meet up back at the prison. I want to see Regal get out."

…

Just as they had planned, everyone had met up in the front of the prison to discuss what they had found. When Leon and Astrid got there, Berg was there as well, explaining the entire situation to the guard and the others. He went in just as the group met up.

"So the guy in the prison was an innocent after all." Guy folded his arms. "That's a strange turn of events."

"What did you guys find out?" Leon asked.

"Nothing much. The only thing that we got out of our asking around is that every fire has the same factors in common." Rita lifted her fingers. "There's always a burst of light, and then the fire breaks out. Other than that, each one holds their own unique factors."

"With the light factor included in the flames, I would have to say that it might be from an Explode spell." Kiryll folded his arms. "The characteristics seem to match up perfectly."

"Guys, we found a more practical answer." Astrid smiled. "It's not from a spell, by from a light-frog."

"A nazdrovie?" Yuri blinked. "Those things come from Flanoir, right? What would they be doing all the way over here?"

"We suspect that one of them snuck onto one of the cargo ships between the trade routes between the two areas." Leon explained. "That man over there was one of the victims of the fires and was able to tell us everything."

"Oh, that explains what he's doing." Kanonno said. "Wait…that muscular guy…he wasn't the arsonist?"

"Of course not. Regal is the type of person not to do that." Astrid explained, a smile on her face.

"Regal? What, you actually got his name?" Stahn asked. "How?"

"Huh?" She blinked. "Well…I asked him. That's what he gave me."

"You actually _**confronted**_ him?" Kiryll looked interested.

"Well, we had to talk to him and get his side of the story." She said. "Our investigation would've been hindered if we didn't get his side of the story."

"Oh, there you are." Berg walked out of the jail. "I just explained everything to them. They're going to release Regal right now. You can see him if you want."

"That's great news, Berg! Thank you." She turned to the door. "Come on, you guys! You'll see…Regal isn't a bad person!"

Everyone looked at each other for a few seconds before forcing themselves to follow suit. Once they got inside, they saw the guard and the man she called Regal out of the cell. The shackles were still on his wrists, making a few of them relax just a little bit.

"Thank goodness." Astrid took a deep breath. "Nothing happened to you. I'm glad you're OK."

"I owe you a great debt, Astrid." Regal nodded. "I thank you."

_Wait…_ Guy blinked and rubbed his chin. _That man, could he be…?_

"I'm sorry that we had to keep you locked up, sir. We might as well get those locks off of you right away." The guard started to dig through his pockets. "What in the-?"

"What's going on?" Kanonno asked. "What's the problem?"

"T-the keys. I don't know where they are!" He started to panic. "Oh man…maybe I dropped them!"

"And this is why prisoners always seem to escape from their jail cells." Yuri sighed while holding his arms over his head.

"What was that?" The guard snapped.

"Now, now, let's calm down here." Kiryll said, stepping between them. "Let's act like civil beings here."

"Hey, maybe you can conjure up a key or something." Stahn grinned. "The offer still stands, you know!"

"We already had this conversation, Stahn." Yuri sighed. "No, he can't do that."

"Still, picking the lock doesn't seem to be a bad idea." Rita stated. "Not to mention that it's probably the only one that we have."

"…Hopefully, I won't get arrested a second time for destruction of property."

Everyone turned their heads around to realize that Regal was the one who said that statement. He began staring at the cuffs on his wrists for a few seconds. Slowly, he started to move his hands as though he was doing some form of trick before suddenly destroying the chain between them with brute strength alone. Naturally this catches everyone's attention, and Stahn _(in his shock)_ proceeds to say a string of words that should not be recopied under any circumstances.

"Are you kidding me? _**ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"**_ Guy finally says without uncopyable words. "Are you saying that _**this **_was the only thing keeping this guy from running amok over the **ENTIRE CITY?** **What** the hell?"

"That just further proves that Regal was innocent this entire time!" Astrid said. "He had the means to break out of the jail and yet he stayed here until his innocence was proved!"

"Either that or he just likes getting locked up in a dark, dingy cave." Rita shrugged.

"Hey, Regal isn't like that!" Astrid argued. "He was just trying to prove a point."

"Ah, yes. Proving a point indeed." Kiryll grinned, holding a majestic pose. "About how holding emotional scars almost always gets a lady to come to his aid and makes everything work out in his favor in the end."

"Wait…" Rita blinked. _**"**__**What?**__**"**_

"Oh, hell." Yuri sighed. "Kiryll, it's not that I want to intrude into this conversation, but did you get that statement from Zelos?"

"Of course I did." Kiryll flicked his finger and grinned. "Yes, he wanted to prove his innocence, but he also knew that most of us guys were not going to come to his aid _('cause come on, what guy goes to help a man as big as that?)_, so what he does instead is subliminally hint the, and I quote, _'emotionally-distraught individual'_ to appeal to the hearts and minds of the female companions that we have brought with us to act as the final chain to what he would call his last hope."

"Gack, are you talking about the _**emo**_ stereotype?" Rita stuck out her tongue. "Those people give me the creeps! I'd rather drop dead than be appealed to those freaks!"

"_Oh dammit."_ Yuri shook his head. _"He's been completely suckered."_

"_What happened to Kiryll?"_ Guy blinked. _"I didn't know he was a lady's man."_

"_He isn't. He's just naïve about the social aspect of everything."_ Yuri answered. _"Unfortunately for Zelos, they talked about…well, this."_

"_Poor Kiryll."_ Kanonno shook her head.

"Why do you call it confusing? Surely, you can see the good side of emotional scars in a human being." Kiryll posed with a smile on his face. "The beauty, the mystery, the hidden appeal."

"Blech! The dreariness, the mood swings, the _**constant whining!"**_ Rita countered.

"The lessons they bring, the life-changes they experience, the unpredictable behavior…"

"The extremely clinginess, the 'oh-woe-is-me' mindset, the constant need to just drag **EVERYONE** into their own problems!"

"Admit it…you can't deny the beauty that the emotionally scarred hold." Kiryll smiled. "The shadow that's cast over their smiles, the secrets that hide behind their eyes, the grace that they hold wherever they walk…"

"God, what appeal?" Rita stuck out her tongue. "The constant need for something _**black**_, the overly styled hair, the excessive need for…_**eyeliner."**_

"Uh…what are you talking about?" Astrid was confused. "Regal doesn't wear black, his hair is simple enough, and…I don't think he wears eyeliner. Plus, I don't think anyone would like the fact that you guys are stereotyping-"

"Nope. Don't bother stopping them." Yuri sighed. "They're too busy ranting right now to care."

"They're always the mature individuals who know from the depths of their hearts about the true natures of human beings." Kiryll stated.

"Oh please! All they ever see from human beings is the fact that they aren't going through the same emotional trauma that they have, hence they're naïve to the world around them!" Rita argued.

"Everyone is indeed naïve about the trauma they hold. All they want is for someone to understand."

"That doesn't mean they can go _**gallivanting**_ wherever the hell they want demanding for someone to get it!"

"Yet when someone does get it, it is almost always a female, isn't it? And when she falls for the beauty in his eyes, her mind is filled with the most beautiful of daydreams to break him away from the darkness that he contains?"

"Daydreams? _**Please.**_ The only fantasy going through HER mind is making him _**UKE**__**."**_

"And _**that's**_ the final touchdown." Yuri jumped in. "She got you beat, Kiryll."

"…well, that doesn't make any sense." Kiryll rubbed the back of his head.

"Kiryll, let me give you a piece of advice: never take anything verbal from Zelos." Stahn said. "You're going to be saving some precious brain cells if you do."

"Hey, uh…speaking of which." Guy looked around. "Where did Regal go?"

"He went to the inn to change his clothes around the time these two started arguing." Leon said. "Now if the both of you are done, we can go meet up with him."

"Oh…OK. Sorry, I thought that since Zelos had such a high ranking in the Tethe'alla kingdom that he was someone to look up to." Kiryll said.

"That's a mistake that many people make…sometimes ending up with catastrophic events." Stahn sighed.

"Oh. OK, I understand now." Kiryll nodded. "Hey, before we go, can anyone tell me what uke is?"

_***Sigh***_

…

**Yeah, you can tell where my mind was going while I was typing this up. Sorry.**


	26. We're Off Frog Hunting!

**As Kiryll and his friends are now certain that the person that was arrested is an innocent man, now they're stuck to wonder where to start looking for this "light-frog" that is the real culprit. Hopefully, they find it before something else is on fire.**

…

The eight of them began to walk out of the jail cell and headed off toward the inn. After realizing that no one had bothered to ask around for it, they wasted another five minutes trying to find the directions to it. Once they actually found it, they were grateful enough to find that Regal had left the inn wearing what seemed to be…a suit?

"Oh, there you are. I was just going to go look for you." He said. "I was worried that you might've been lost."

"_Lost is an understatement…"_ Guy sighed.

"Enough about that. _**Please."**_ Stahn walked in front of them. "Astrid probably told you about why we're here, right?"

"Yes, she has." He stated. He did have a calm tone in his voice. "And by the tone of your voice, all of you have an idea who's behind this."

"What's behind this is a better term." Rita stated. "The only problem is that we have no idea how to bring the damn frog _**OUT."**_

"It shouldn't be hard enough." Regal explained. "I believe that there must be something connecting all of the fires together. If we find out what that connecting force is, then we can use that to get the arsonist in the light."

"OK, what would that be?" Kanonno began to think. "All the factors that seem the same are only because of the light-frog."

"…" Kiryll looked up. "Gels."

"_**Gels?"**_ Everyone blinked in unison.

"Yep. Seafood gels." He had a grin on his face. "Every single place that was attacked all had some form of seafood gel storage. And in every single fire, the entire stock is eaten up without so much as a burn on the box."

"Yeah, that's true…" Yuri nodded. "Can't be a coincidence, right?"

"So we lure it out with seafood gels." Rita shrugged. "Where are we going to get those?"

"I'd be the obvious one at this point and say _'look around town'_, but I'm going to go on a whim here and say that the entire stock has been eaten up by the light-frog." Stahn wrapped his arms around his head. "Then again, gels aren't that hard to make, right?"

"Well, they're pretty cheap on the markets." Astrid shrugged. "But I don't know how to make one, especially seafood gels."

"Does anyone know?" Leon looked around.

_***Silence***_

"I do." Yuri answered. "Hope this light-frog likes second best."

"Awesome!" Kanonno chirped. "So, what do you need?"

"Jellyfish." He turned to everyone. "The ones in Triet are among the best. It'll get that nazdrovie running to the light."

"All right then, we should split up." Kiryll said. "We need at least four of you guys to stay in the city in case the nazdrovie shows up again. The rest of us are going to head over to Triet."

"That's a snowy area, right? I'm going!" Stahn grinned.

"I have to go. Only a certain type of jellyfish can be used in the recipe." Yuri stated. "And knowing half of you, you have no idea how to tell the difference."

"I'm going too." Astrid nodded.

"In that case, I'll come too." Regal walked forward.

"Wait, hold up a second!" Rita argued. "Are you leaving me and Kanonno with a bunch of _guys?"_

"Well, you didn't claim a position, right?" Kiryll smiled. "Don't worry, we'll be quick."

"Unbelievable…"

…

The thing that made Triet so unique is that it's a city that held both snow and sand, since it's located in the center of the desert. As they entered the desert snow city, they weren't expecting the weather to be as mild as it was.

"Wow, I was expecting this place to be freezing cold." Stahn blinked. "This place is tolerable."

"That doesn't make any sense." Astrid blinked. "I thought ice melts at these temperatures."

"It might be because Triet has just left its winter months." Regal explained. "The ice will melt once summer comes to this place."

"Wow, so Triet has two polar opposite weather patterns…" Kiryll blinked. "That's hard to think about."

"Well, think about it later. We need to find the lake around here." Yuri stepped forward.

"OK, can I just state the irony of that statement on the walk? _Jellyfish in a lake?"_ Stahn said.

No one was going to get into that topic as they went about their way. After a few seconds _(apparently Yuri knew the place like the back of his hand)_, they found the frozen lake. It felt odd walking on the ice, but after three minutes of stabilizing themselves, they found a crack in the ice they can fish through.

"Ah, fishing." Regal nodded. "It's been a while."

"Do you fish, Regal?" Astrid asked.

"Yes. Every now and then, I take the yacht out for marlin fishing." He answered.

"_Blech._ I hate marlins." Stahn sighed. "No matter how much you cook them…wait, _yacht?"_

"Wait a minute…" Kiryll blinked in confusion. "Regal, right? As in Regal **Bryant**?"

"Yes, that is my name." He answered. "You've heard of me before, then?"

"Just…" Kiryll stared. "Once."

"Regal…Bryant?" Stahn tilted his head. "OK…am I supposed to know you?"

"He's from a noble family in Tethe'alla." Yuri folded his arms. "Not only that, he's also the president of the Lezerano company."

"Lezerano? No way! Chat's ship was built by that company!" Astrid gasped.

"That tanker?" Stahn gawked. "No way!"

"Well, way." Yuri seemed amused by their shock. "OK, going back onto topic here. We should start fishing soon before Rita starts complaining."

"Right!" Stahn grinned. "Leave it to me, boys! With my adept fishing skills, we'll get a jellyfish in no time!"

"You've fished before?" Astrid blinked. "I didn't know that."

"Aw come on. Just because I come from the country side, doesn't mean I know my way around a fishing rod." Stahn grinned.

"Right. That explains why every time you throw a line, you end up hitting someone with it."

"Don't _**mock**_ me, Yuri…" He growled.

"Hey, uh…not to sound strange or anything, but…" Kiryll blinked. "What's…fishing?"

_***Stare in silence***_

"Seriously?" Stahn blinked. "You've _never _fished before?"

"I don't think I've even heard about it." He answered. "I mean, I might've _**seen**_ it before, but…"

"Is something wrong with Kiryll?" Regal looked concerned.

"Kiryll suffers from memory loss." Astrid explained. "He's in the guild to try to find out his past."

"Yes, but it's only now that we learn on just how _deep_ that memory gap is." Stahn sighed.

"He'll catch on. It's not that hard." Yuri turned to Kiryll. "Let's just start fishing before we get distracted again. I can handle Kiryll."

"Oh, I hope you do." Stahn stated.

As everyone else went to find their fishing spots, Kiryll followed Yuri to one he found in particular. Yuri handed him a fishing rod before throwing the hook into the hole. He quickly followed suit, surprised that he didn't hit anyone with the hook.

"So…now what?" He asked.

"We wait." Yuri answered. "The fish come to us. It's basically just a waiting game."

"Oh…" Kiryll stared at the fishing rod in front of him. "Well, can't we make them come _faster _or something?"

"You've never heard about fishing, have you?" Yuri seemed amused.

"No, actually." Kiryll stated. "In fact, I don't think I've heard about jellyfish before."

"Geez, how selective is your memory?" Yuri laughed. "I'll let you know if you caught one, so don't worry about grabbing the wrong one."

"Thanks, Yuri."

The fishing rod began to tug a little, catching his interest. Instantly, he grabbed the rod and began to pull on it. Yuri noticed Kiryll pulling on the rod and started to help. Before long, a gigantic jellyfish was pulled out of the water. It touched Kiryll's legs, shocking him.

"Ow!" He jumped back. "Is this a jellyfish?"

"Yep. You're supposed to grab it from the top, since it can generate electricity." Yuri grabbed it like it didn't bother him. "You're OK, right?"

"As good as I'll ever be." Kiryll stood up. "Tingles a bit, though."

"It'll go away in a while. It's like getting hit with a spell…only you're more likely to live." Yuri safely placed the jellyfish away.

"Hey, Yuri! Is this a good enough jellyfish?" Stahn lifted a big one.

"I got one too, if you need it!" Astrid held one up.

"Will one more do?" Regal was holding one up as well.

"So many jellyfish…" Kiryll stared at them in shock. "I didn't know they were that common in this area…"

"That rounds it off to five then." Yuri said as he _SINGLE HANDIDLY_ pulled another jellyfish from his fishing pole. "OK, we should head back to Izoold."

…

Just as everyone had predicted, Rita was getting really impatient when they came back. No fires had occurred while they were out and there were no signs that they were going to restock their seafood gels, so it was a clear indication that this was indeed the works of a light-frog.

"So all we need now are those gels!" Stahn stated.

"Yuri's the only one who knows how to make those." Kanonno chirped.

"Speaking of which…where is he?" Leon looked around. "I haven't seen him when you guys came back."

"He's on the ship creating them as we speak." Regal answered. "He told us to meet him there when he's done."

"He'll be ambushed, you know." Guy stated. "That light-frog is going to come out of nowhere when he least expects it and just set him on fire while he dines on the gels."

"Wait…Yuri is going to be set on fire?" Stahn blinked. _**"THAT'S **__**AWESOME!**___I mean…th-that's bad. Yeah…yeah, that's what I meant."

"…I'm going to go wait for him."

"Me too!"

"Y-yeah, I'm going too."

"_**WAIT FOR ME!"**_

…

Everyone gathered up together in front of the ship to wait for Yuri to come out. They avoided looking at Stahn, who still had no idea what was going on. After a few small minutes, they saw Yuri walk out of the ship with a huge sling bag over his shoulder. He looked at the others in interest.

"What, you guys got lonely or something?" He asked with a smirk.

"No…scared." Kanonno shivered.

"What? Does it have something to do with me?" Stahn asked again.

"…Enough about them." Leon said. "Do you have a plan for those gels?"

"Of course." He grinned. "Follow me."

Odd enough, they ended up at the port just a few seconds away from the main ship. Silently, they watched Yuri drag a huge wooden cart out from the side and dump out all of the seafood gels that he made right into them.

"God, I'm hungry…" Stahn whined.

"Do you think this is going to work?" Astrid asked.

"Hey, Kiryll offered the proposition." Yuri pointed out. "I just cook."

"If this theory doesn't work, can I eat them?" Stahn leaned over.

"You complain too much." Leon rolled his eyes.

After that statement, they found a bright white light erupt in front of them. Kiryll covered his eyes almost immediately, lowering his hands only to see a gigantic green frog standing on top of the wooden crate. He was a lot bigger than what he was expecting a frog to be.

"Whoa! That's a nazdrovie?" Kanonno pulled out her broadsword.

"Didn't even wait to look around first." Yuri drew his sword. "Hopefully, he doesn't try to set us on fire."

"_Yeah…true…" _Stahn mumbled.

The light-frog jumped right into the air as Kiryll turned toward it. Half his mind was only vaguely aware of the fact that there was a tarot card in his hand, only becoming fully aware once he drew his cross and pulled out at least ten knives. _Hanged Man_, his mind told him.

"Dammit, stay still!" Stahn began to rapidly swing at him.

"_**Spread Zero!"**_ Rita looked up at the frog. "Kanonno, it's coming to you!"

"Right!" She steadied her sword. _**"Bakusaizan!"**_

She threw the blade into the ground, causing rocks to rise up over her head and hit the flying frog. It hit him perfectly, knocking him to the ground. This vulnerability allowed Regal and Guy to throw in a few free hits before it could retaliate. When it did, it began to shine brightly yet again.

_This is getting annoying…_ Kiryll covered his eyes.

When he lowered his arms, he noticed in shock that Astrid was unconscious on the ground. The frog lunged quickly towards her, but was deflected by a quick flick of his wrists and flying daggers. As the frog jumped back, Kiryll got his daggers and lunged for an attack.

"I got Astrid!" Kanonno called, as if she was playing a game.

"I get defense!" Stahn flipped into place.

Kiryll grinned as he continued his dagger assault. The fighting continued on for a period of a few minutes before the frog started to get desperate. He did one more bright shine, something that everyone was able to deflect, but when the light was gone, so was he.

"Hey!" Rita opened her eyes. "Where did-?"

"Stahn!" Guy called out. "He's headed towards you!"

He turned his head just as the frog knocked him out of the way. Kanonno went into the battle before she was knocked off by the frog. Without skipping a beat, he landed perfectly and dashed toward the unconscious Astrid. Kiryll was about to summon a Persona when he heard a quick swish of a blade, and noticed that Leon had gotten to her first.

"We're done here."

Kiryll watched as the frog collapsed just a few feet from where his blade had hovered over. The people around him were just staring in blank shock over the fact that he wasn't even moving. When he did, it was only to nudge Astrid once. She stirred.

"W-wait…where's the nazdrovie?" She darted upward.

"Easy there." Yuri helped her up. "Leon took care of it."

"Oh…" She turned to him. "Th-thank you, Leon."

"…hn." He walked away.

"So…the mission's over then?" Guy looked around.

"Yeah." Kiryll returned his cross to his neck. "We should go meet up with the jailer and head back to the ship."

"That's a good idea." Stahn turned toward Regal. "What about you? Any plans?"

"Actually…I was wondering if you could get me to Meltokio." He asked plainly.

"We can do that." Kanonno chirped.

"Just go ask Chat first." Rita sighed.

Everyone turned to leave the docks, leaving Kiryll alone. After a few seconds of blanking out, he quickly started a small jog. Suddenly, a quick chill ran down his back. The air became tight and dry, yet he felt unable to breathe. He turned his head and noticed a familiar figure hovering nearby.

"I finally found you…"

"…Guede."

…

**OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! CRAZY GUY WITH TWO COLORS FOR EYES IS BAAAAAAAACK!**


	27. The Velvet Room :EMPRESS: :JUSTICE:

**After a few normal missions and thinking that it was just another day, Kiryll found himself face-to-face with none other than Guede. He's after his Cruxis Crystal, and Kiryll knows very well that he has the power to do so. Can he handle him alone?**

"" "" ""

"Guede…" He bit his lip.

"Kiryll." He grinned. "You thought that you can run away from me, didn't you?"

"…what do you want from me?" Kiryll backed up, holding his Cross.

"My Cruxis Crystal." He pulled his collar enough, revealing an empty Key Crest. "The one that you just happened to steal from me."

"That's impossible. Every single Cruxis Crystal is individually attuned to only one person." He heard fear in his voice. He was never scared before…not that he can recall. "It works only when I have it…not when you do."

"You haven't realized it already? God, and here I thought you were one of the smartest beings on the planet!" Guede pointed to him with his bony arm. "Haven't you noticed how you can change into a female?"

Kiryll froze.

"Wait…" He backed up, the fear almost driving him insane. "H-how did…?"

"You can change between the genders of humans. Not only that, you've been blessed with the ability to change everything that you are." Guede nodded. "This name you have, this 'guise' that you wear now…don't you get it? The only reason why you can use my Cruxis Crystal is because it thinks that you're me!"

"I'm…you?" He almost felt like he was going to cry. "No, I can't be…"

"There is no Kiryll Nightroad." Guede stated. "You're everything and nothing...a being that is not supposed to exist."

Kiryll found himself frozen, squeezing his Cross and willing that he would have the energy to just kill him right now. Yet he couldn't find the nerve to even move. Guede's words were swirling rapidly around his head. _Was he really not supposed to exist?_

"Don't worry…I'll make the pain go away."

A quick second later, Guede had his hands around Kiryll's neck, hanging him in the air. Kiryll squeezed his Cross, willing his arm to move, but instead felt his arm drop helplessly to his side. All that was going through his head were the words, _"You were never supposed to exist."_

Before he knew it, a wave of bubbles swarmed out of nowhere and charged at Guede. He dropped Kiryll and jumped out of the way, revealing a girl with a golden outfit and a bubble flute in her hands. Kiryll felt warm arms catch his fall, and he opened his eyes to reveal that it was Yuri.

"Get your grubby mitts away from Kiryll, you jerk!" Norma ordered. "Don't tell me you're a Hunter!"

"He's just after Kiryll, Norma." Yuri looked up at Guede. "It was like this back at Zaphias."

"Fine!" Guede looked at the both of them. "I can handle the both of you-"

He looked at Yuri and flinched for half a second, catching Norma's attention. They were in a major staring match before Guede grinned and backed up, a dark air erupting behind him. His red eye began to throb to them.

"So you decided to join us. How interesting." Guede laughed. "Fine, I'll leave him alone…for now. Don't think that I'll give you a freebie next time."

"Hey…he's gone!" Norma turned to Yuri. "He seemed scared of you. Did you meet him before?"

"Back at Zaphias, but I didn't think I gave him that big of an influence." He turned back to Kiryll. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah…I'm-"

It was only then that both Kiryll and Norma noticed that Yuri's face is close to his…_nervously _close. Instantly, his face turned bright red and the headache that was in his brain merely intensified. Norma seemed to take this encounter with a grin on her face.

"I-I-I-I-I'm fine…really, I'm fine! C-c-can I stand?"

"Huh? Oh, sure."

Yuri leaned back, throwing Kiryll up to his feet and about five meters away from Yuri, his face as red as blood. Norma was now going through hysterics at this point, and everyone was running toward them with panic on their faces.

"What's going on? What happened?" Stahn looked around.

"A _**WHOLE**_ lot, actually!" Norma cackled.

It was then that Kiryll's face went even more red than humanly possible. And Yuri, for some odd reason, was completely naïve to what had just happened. Either that or he didn't see the close encounter as a big problem.

Yeah, let's hope that was the reason.

"" "" ""

When they went back onto the ship, Kiryll felt his face slowly sink back to normal skin tones. He settled down by sitting down on the roof of the ship, watching it fly over the landscape on the way to Meltokio with no stops.

"You're one lucky man, Kiryll Nightroad."

Kiryll's face turned bright red as he noticed Norma standing next to him, looking away toward the passing trees of the forests.

"You have to admit it: Yuri's not that bad-looking. And from what I heard from a couple of girls around here, they would KILL to be in that same position that you were in."

"I-I-I'm not like that!" He curled up. "It was just startling how close he was to my face, that's all!"

"Right, like that would explain the bright red all over your face back there."

"Sh-shut up!"

"…whoa. What happened to you?"

"Huh?" Kiryll looked up. "What are you talking about?"

"You're…emotional." Norma turned to him. "From what I heard from the others…you were always so calm."

"…" He looked down.

"It has something to do with that Guede person, doesn't it?" She asked. "What exactly did he do to you?"

"…he told me a little bit about myself." He answered. "But…it only brought up more questions."

"Oh yeah, your search for some answers to your questions. Arche told me a little bit about it." Norma sat next to him.

"Arche? Really?" Kiryll was surprised.

"She didn't tell me much…other than the fact that you're a Wild Card and people are after you and…oh yeah, you went to Ozette to find someone." She sighed. "Which…didn't end well."

"No…no it didn't." Kiryll shook his head. "Is that it?"

"She neglected to tell me specific details. But I want to know them!" She leaned closer to him. "Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaasse?"

"OK, OK. I was going to tell you anyway." He laughed. "Well…show you is more like it."

Norma looked confused as Kiryll stood up and backed away from her. He held his tarot card behind him and shattered it, transforming him into Kyra right in front of her. She jumped back in shock as Kyra knelt in front of her.

"During one of my missions, I learned that I was able to transform into a female. I adopted the name Kyra for this guise and accepted it as a part of me." She smiled. "When Guede came that time, he was after my Cruxis Crystal."

"And he's not a Hunter?" Norma seemed confused.

"No. He said that it was originally his." Kyra's smile faded. "And that I stole it to become a heron."

"Wait, that doesn't make any sense!" Norma leaned forward. "Didn't Jade mention this to you? Herons all have their own unique Crystals! It's working with you just fine!"

"That's the problem…" Kyra looked down. "He said that…I'm nonexistent."

"You're existing just fine." Norma looked confused.

"No…that's not what I meant." She stood. "I meant my name…Kiryll Nightroad…never existed. I can be Kiryll Nightroad, I can be Kyra…Guede. According to him, I can be everyone on this planet…but I will never have my own identity."

"That's stupid. You're Kiryll Nightroad, right? Then that's who you are." Norma stood up. "So what if people say that you aren't anyone? Then you go out and make a name out of yourself."

"Norma?"

"So what if your name ends up being the same as other people out there? First of all, I'm pretty sure that five other people in the world have the same name as you do." She grinned. "And if that's the issue, then you separate your name from the other Kiryll Nightroads in the world! You're not having a hard time with that, huh?"

Kyra nodded and smiled. Suddenly, her body began to glow. Norma backed up in shock as a card erupted from Kyra's body. It flipped a couple of times before revealing a symbol on it. It wasn't an original Persona card, like what he originally thought. Instead, it showed the image of an urn of some sort surrounded by vines.

"What the heck is that?" Norma gasped.

"_Empress…"_ She blinked.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** A voice echoed in her head. It sounded like an older Norma. **"I, THE EMPRESS OF THE STRAND OF TIME, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."**

The card sank back into her body, transforming her back into Kiryll. He looked up from where the card sank and looked back at Norma, who was staring at him like he was the most interesting thing in the world. Then again, he probably was.

"I feel a little stronger now." He said. "Do you think it was because of…?"

"I'll throw that as a safe bet." Norma answered. "Maybe you need some rest."

"Yeah…I'm going to head off to my room now…"

"" "" ""

When Kiryll returned to his room, he instantly locked up the door behind him. After that, he slid onto the floor while holding his head. The last half-hour of the entire trip has basically done nothing but give him over a thousand other questions to bring up. _Since when did his Persona start talking to him?_

It was then that he realized that there was another door in his room. Standing up, he realized that the door looked a lot different from the other doors in the ship. It was a dark blue and more gothic looking, with no handle to grasp. He was about to turn away when he saw a gaping hole for his Cross. He slipped it in without a second thought, and the door opened.

When he walked in, he realized that the landscape completely changed. It was the inside of a gigantic library, something that he would see inside of a castle. The windows took up the entire wall in front of him, making him turn around and realize that the door he walked through was completely a wall of books.

"_**We have a guest."**_

Kiryll darted his head up to see two figures in front of him _(two he was pretty sure wasn't there before)_. One was sitting on the couch in a suit. What struck Kiryll was that his nose was HUGE. The person standing next to him was a woman, with bright pink hair and purple eyes…

"Where in the world am I…?" He looked around.

"_**Hm? I know that voice."**_ The man with the long nose looked up. _**"Ah! Such an important guest. Welcome. Please, have a seat."**_

Instantly, a blue velvet seat appeared in front of him. After a few minutes of freaking out, he slowly sat down inside the seat. The table in front of him slowly began to glow, catching him off guard before the man chuckled at his interest.

"_**You always were one to be interested in everything."**_ He said.

"Wait…" Kiryll blinked in shock. "You know me?"

"_**We've been watching over you ever since your descent onto the human world."**_ The man laughed. _**"Do you know why you descended?"**_

"Um…no." Kiryll felt like he was going to get interrogated.

"_**It's because this is all tied to your destiny."**_ He answered. _**"But first, let us introduce ourselves. My name is Igor…I'm delighted to meet your acquaintance."**_

"…Kiryll. Kiryll Nightroad." He answered. "Can I ask…where we are?"

"_**This place, upon which you stand, exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a place that only those bound to Genesis may enter."**_ The man folded his arms. _**"Care to guess where we are?"**_

"I don't-"

"_**It will come to you in due time, my boy."**_ Igor answered. _**"Before I forget, I want to introduce my assistant to you. This is Harold."**_

"Harold?" He turned to her. "But…you're a girl."

"The same way that you can hold the form of a girl, I can hold the name of a man." Harold grinned.

"That's…not the same thing." Kiryll shivered.

"_**Let us continue this discussion for another time."**_ Igor looked at Kiryll. _**"We should look into your future, shall we?"**_

Kiryll watched as Igor summoned a tarot deck from thin air, landing on the table in front of him. By the faint illumination of the moonlight outside, he recognized the back pattern of the cards to be the same as the tarot cards that he had been summoning for the past month and a half that he was here. The cards separated into seven different piles, shaping a Cruxis Crystal.

"_**Tell me…do you believe in fortune telling?"**_ Igor asked. It sounded rhetorical. _**"Each reading is done with the same cards, and yet each outcome is always different. Doesn't life follow the same unknown principles?"**_

_Couldn't they be different because the cards were shuffled?_ Kiryll thought to himself. He made no move to mention it out loud.

Igor chuckled again as he lifted his hand over the cards. After a few seconds of silence, Kiryll lifted his arm up as well, parallel to his. Their hands hovered over the cards until it reached over the one on Kiryll's right. It flipped over, revealing an upright moon.

"_**The Moon in the upright position, representing the immediate future."**_ Igor looked up at Kiryll. _**"You are going through a troubled time, holding nothing but mysteries, yet you hesitate to get them answered. The future after that is…"**_

Immediately, Kiryll thought of the words that Guede had told him earlier, and of Kanata's gravestone in Ozette. The card right in front of Kiryll flipped, revealing Death, upside down.

"_**Death, upside down."**_ Igor chuckled. _**"Fear not, Nightroad. The card of death does not literally **__**mean**__** the cease of one's life. In this sense, it means the end of an old life."**_

"An old life?"

"_**Yes. It seems that you are reaching out towards answers to the many questions that you have about yourself, and once you obtain those answers, only then will the chains that bind you to the past will be gone."**_ Igor dismissed the cards in front of him. _**"The upcoming months are crucial to your destiny. If you fail to solve the mystery that is in front of you, your future will be forever lost."**_

"So I have to find the answers to my past." Kiryll voiced his thoughts. "Where do I even begin?"

"_**Fear not. It is our duty to provide our assistance, in order to make sure that does not happen."**_ Igor laughed. _**"As you leave, my assistant Harold will follow you to the real world. She will live among the humans and provide you with her abilities."**_

"I happen to be an avid spell caster." Harold grinned. "I will not let you down."

"Thank you, Harold." Kiryll nodded.

"_**We shall attend to the details some other time."**_ Igor turned to him. _**"Until we meet again, farewell."**_

"" "" ""

"I see that you met up with them."

Kiryll's eyes opened to reveal that he was staring at the blank wall in front of him, doorless. Confused, he turned his head around to reveal that Leon was leaning on his bedroom door, seemingly out of nowhere. He jumped.

"Leon?" Kiryll rubbed his head. "I thought I locked that door."

"You did. I just happened to pick the lock." Leon walked toward him. "So then…you entered the Velvet Room, haven't you?"

"The…Velvet Room?" Kiryll looked down. "That would explain why everything was so dark. So you knew who those people were?"

"There were two of them, correct?"

"Yes. One was named Igor and had a long nose. The other one was named Harold…which is strange."

"Igor is the caretaker of the Velvet Room and the Genesis plane. He's managing the other realm while we are with the humans. Harold is his assistant and my escort. She does most of the descending onto the human plane to observe them while we go about our duties."

"So Igor is running the afterlife…wait, then the Velvet Room is-"

"The entrance to the Genesis plane." Leon turned to him. "If you were able to meet up with my servants, that means that you've been made aware of what's to come."

"Yeah. Apparently, I have to find out everything about my past to save the world. It's going to be hard, concerning the fact that everything I already heard is hard enough to swallow." Kiryll smiled. "But I won't be alone. Harold's descending onto the human plane to help me."

***Freeze***

"…Leon?"

"Oh god, save me."

Kiryll watched in confusion as Leon turned and left the room, a look of shock and fear on his face. It actually looked pretty funny. Once he left, he felt his body glow again. A card flew out of his body, revealing the image of Justice.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** Like before, the voice sounded like an older version of Leon. **"I, THE BEARER OF THE GOLDEN SCALES, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."**

The card sank back into his body as the lights and wind faded. He became confused of what was going on, and hoped that he would get some answers soon. Suddenly, he heard a dinging over the loudspeakers.

"_**THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING."**_ It was Chat. _**"WE ARE NOW REACHING OUR DESTINATION OF MELTOKIO."**_

"" "" ""

**So yeah…school's going to end tomorrow for me…MORE CHAPTERS WILL COME!**


	28. Back to Meltokio :EMPEROR:

**After the encounter with Leon's subordinates, Kiryll is now in Meltokio again. The last time that he was here, he was sent to the Human Ranch that had given him at least some of his answers to his questions. What will he find this time?**

"" "" ""

When the ship landed, Kiryll was the first person off. The city hasn't changed much ever since he last arrived _(then again, what city changes in a few weeks?)_, still hustling and bustling with tourists and denizens alike. Behind him, he could hear footsteps of his friends passing him into the city. He then recalled that for most of them, it was their first time here.

"Look at all of the buildings! They're huge!" Norma jumped in front of him. "They must've cost **THOUSANDS** to build!"

"It is the capital of Tethe'alla. They're bound to spend a little bit too much on detail alone." Yuri looked around.

"What can you expect?" Norma chirped. "The king has to live in royalty, right?"

Kiryll couldn't help but chuckle as everyone walked off the plane for a bit of fresh air. He continued to walk off the ramp when he noticed that Regal had passed him. Again, a chill went down his spine. He never quite understood why he got chills from him and not Kongman. Maybe it's because Regal had that look in his eyes, only further accented when he turned and looked at him.

"I'll be back."

Before he could say anything, Regal was already off. He was surprisingly agile for a bulky man _(yet another feature that might've scared him)_ as he ran into the crowds. Kiryll stood there for a few minutes before remembering that everyone that had Sylvarant or Tethe'allan blood was going to meet up with the king about the Vanguard.

"Hey, where'd the bulky blue-haired guy go?" Reid looked around. "I just saw him a few minutes ago."

"He went off to a meeting with the king." He answered.

"Oh yeah, I heard something about that from Prince Garr. Apparently, all the kings and queens from around the world are going to discuss the issue concerning them." Reid rubbed the back of his head. "Garr left a few minutes ago, and I just saw Estelle and Chloe leave."

"The Vanguard…" Kiryll held his head. "They're…more of a threat than just being Hunters, aren't they?"

"Of course they are. The issue itself has nothing to do with the slaughter of innocent bystanders for profit." Keele walked past the both of them, still talking. "It's about the issue of them liberating Sylvarant from Tethe'allan rule."

"Well, they have their country in mind." Kiryll looked confused. "I'm sure that they have the support of the people behind them."

"That's the problem. Many of the Sylvaranti do wish for their own government, but they don't want it to be done by war." Keele still had his head in the book. "In fact, this meeting is the appointment of Sylvaranti to their new government."

"So they're going to give Sylvarant what they want!" Reid looked surprised. "That means that the Vanguard is going to dissipate!"

"Hopefully, that is the case. If not…that's why we're here." Keele turned to them. "Most of them had personally requested that we assist the bodyguards during their meeting. Lloyd took that up to mean that only those who live in Auldrant to take the mission. However…"

"What?" Reid blinked.

"They had requested all of us to come." Keele answered. "So as a result, all of us are postponing our missions and coming here for the day."

Kiryll stared at Keele as he walked down toward the castle. Reid got really confused and started following Keele, leaving Kiryll alone. After concluding that he was the only person still left on the ship, he headed down deeper into the city. He noticed a few of his friends running around buying anything that their gald can pay for, laughed at them a few times, and then headed deeper in. He rounded a corner when he bumped into a knight. More importantly, he bumped into _rock solid_ armor.

"**OW!"** He rubbed his forehead.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry! I didn't see you there!" The knight said. "Hm? Hey, you're-!"

"Eh?" He looked up. "Oh. Flynn. I figured that I'd see you here."

"Wait…you knew that I was going to be here?" Flynn looked very confused.

"Well, you're well trusted in the castle. I figured that you'd be here as Ioder-san's personal bodyguard." Kiryll answered.

Flynn was about to say something when two other people came running out of nowhere to his side. One of them was a young boy _(or maybe just a small boy)_ with short green hair and glasses, wearing a long white robe and holding a staff. Another one was a girl wearing the same armor that Flynn was wearing. She had brown hair and purple eyes _(quite contradictory)_, which made Kiryll remember that she was one of the soldiers that was there when he got interrogated back in Zaphias.

"Commander!" She looked at Kiryll and grimaced. "Aren't you the one who stole the treasure of the kingdom?"

"Please, Sodia. Kiryll had been pardoned by Ioder-sama." Flynn smiled. "Treat him with a little more respect."

"I'm sorry, commander. But I still can't trust him completely."

"Well, she's doing her job well." Kiryll smiled, oblivious to the tension in the air. "I thought I should let you know that Yuri's in the area as well."

"Yuri?" Flynn looked startled. "Oh, I see. He hasn't complained about it?"

"Complained? He's just Yuri." Kiryll looked confused. "He didn't seem to mind going into a room filled with rich people."

"I see. Well, that's good." He turned away. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I must be going."

"To Ioder-san?" Kiryll grinned. "That's fine. I'll see you in the castle, I guess."

Flynn and his group turned to leave, but not before the girl he called Sodia turned to glare back at him. He just smiled, feeling no sense of fear whatsoever, even though his gut instinct was telling him otherwise. Part of him thought that Flynn was leaving just to see Yuri. It had been a while since they last saw each other.

"Kiryll."

"_**?" **_ He turned around. "Oh…Veigue. God, don't sneak up on me like that."

"I was calling you for a while." Veigue answered. "Your presence has been requested in the castle."

"Oh, so they're rounding up everyone now. All right." Kiryll walked. "Let's go."

"Can I ask you one thing before we go?"

"Hm? Oh, sure. What is it?"

"That man you were talking to…who is he?"

"Oh, him? That's Flynn. He's a friend of Yuri's. You know, the guy with the long, purple hair and deep voice?"

"I know who Yuri is. I just…felt something from him."

"From Flynn? What do you mean?"

"…It's probably nothing. Sorry I brought it up."

Kiryll was confused as Veigue turned and walked toward the castle. As he turned to follow suit, he turned back and realized that Flynn had already left for the castle _(perhaps on a different path?)_. He turned around and quickly caught up with Veigue.

"" "" ""

When he got into the castle, he was surprised to see that everyone was surrounding the doors. Flynn wasn't anywhere to be seen _(despite what Kiryll had been thinking earlier)_, but he was able to notice a sleeping Stahn opposite one of the doors. He chuckled a bit as he kicked him awake.

"Wha-wha-wha…I'm awake, I'm awake." Stahn looked up. "Oh, Kiryll. Hey."

"Sleeping on the job, I see." Kiryll chuckled.

"Relax, I was just closing my eyes!" Stahn looked confident. "Where the heck were you, all this time?"

"I bumped into Flynn while I was on my way here." He answered. "He was in high spirits."

"Flynn? Oh wait, that's Yuri's friend, isn't he? The guy that was interrogating you for that Cross necklace?"

"Yeah, that was the guy. All's forgiven, though. I don't know about his soldiers, but at least he doesn't think of me as a criminal."

"That's good to hear…I guess. Hey, just to get you into the swing of things, I heard that the Vanguard might be attacking this council."

"Wh-why? I thought the Vanguard wanted Sylvarant to be liberated from Tethe'alla."

"That's what I thought, too. I asked around, and from what I heard, it had something to do with the fact that the Vanguard itself wants to appoint the leaders. I never really got why they would do something like that since this is hypothetically a win for them."

"Maybe we're not thinking too deep into this? They're forming a republic, right?"

"Yep. Republics are usually a way to go in this ever-changing world." Stahn laughed. "It just makes this threat all the more confusing."

Kiryll leaned on the wall with Stahn as he began to contemplate on what he was just told. Apparently, despite the fact that the Vanguard wants to liberate Sylvarant from Tethe'allan rule, and the meeting today that is supposed to do that exact mission, they might be attacking the council.

_Why would they want to prevent the one thing that they want done?_ He rubbed his forehead. _The only thing that I can come up with is that they want the country to go through total anarchy first before establishing a republic. If they do hold the thoughts of the people on the highest regard, they would probably go so far as to play the bodyguards themselves! What are they planning?_

The door opened, revealing a girl with short blond hair and a one-piece skirt with boots and a bow and arrow on her back. Behind her, Kiryll noticed that the nobles inside of the room were standing up and talking amongst themselves about some party.

"What's going on in there?" Stahn asked.

"We're calling for a break in the meeting." The girl answered. "We're going to continue tomorrow. As for tonight, the king has decided to throw a party for the royal guests. Everyone is invited, of course."

"A party in the middle of a meeting?" Stahn chuckled. "That's about the weirdest thing I ever heard."

"Though not uncommon." Kiryll grinned. "When is the party?"

"Six o' clock." The princess answered. "The emperor has provided you all with your outfits for the party, so that you don't have to find them yourselves."

"That's nice of the king to do that." Kiryll nodded. "We'll see you at the party, then…princess…?"

"Natalia." She answered. "Of Kimlasca."

"" "" ""

The outfit that he was provided consisted of a poofy white shirt with a long golden robe and butler gloves. For some reason, he wasn't provided with pants _(maybe it was one of the maids?)_, so he was forced to use his original pants. The white shoes that he was provided completed his outfit, and he had to admit: he looked pretty good…once he smoothed down his hair.

_Why in the world do rich people wear so many layers of clothes?_ He thought.

Sighing and realizing that there really wasn't anything he could do at this point, he left the small dressing room that was provided for him, and realized that Yuri was staring at a mirror with his party outfit. His hair was up, complimenting his black jacket with a red back that was cut before it past his chest, revealing his gray shirt underneath. With the black pants _(with another red covering)_ and knight boots that stood on his frame, Kiryll couldn't help but notice that he looked like a general in a war…or a prince.

"Oh, Kiryll." Yuri looked up. "Wow…they went all out with you."

"I don't get it either. I was perfectly fine with what I had." He turned to Yuri. "You look a lot better than I do."

"Well, whoever gave me these obviously had me in mind. They're extremely flexible." Yuri started stretching out his arm. "I might be able to use this in battle."

"Um…I don't think that you can use them in a fight." Kiryll chuckled. "So…have you bumped into Flynn yet?"

"Yeah, I saw him." Yuri grinned. "He's probably the one who gave me this."

"It must be nice to have friends that close to you for so long." Kiryll grinned.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Yuri folded his arms, keeping that grin on his face. "Aren't we all your friends?"

"Of course you're all my friends. I meant since childhood." Kiryll answered. "You knew Flynn since god knows how long. Me? I only knew you for a month."

"Yeah, that's true. We bump heads though, from time to time." Yuri looked back at the mirror. "Did you know that I used to be one of the royal knights with Flynn?"

"One of the knights?" Kiryll's eyes widened a little bit. "I never knew that you had the patience to do something like that."

"It was the only way to leave the castle back then, before guilds started coming around." Yuri turned and leaned on the wall. "Flynn suggested that I join the knights just to get the freedom that I wanted, but I didn't like it one bit. On the other hand, Flynn seemed to enjoy being one of their drones."

"What caused you to leave?" Kiryll looked confused. "I'm getting the feeling it wasn't just the fact that you were forced around by the higher ups."

"It was their methods." Yuri sighed. "The knights are too busy throwing their weight around to notice any type of problem that the lower class was suffering. I wanted to do something about it, like Flynn. He wanted to do it slowly, all while the people suffered. The fact that our methods were different caused me to leave."

"He didn't seem to be mad about that." Kiryll said.

"He isn't. We're still on speaking terms." He grinned. "He hasn't changed."

"I'm pretty sure that he thinks that you haven't changed either."

"Yeah. Change is hard to come by, you know." He turned and walked toward the door. "We should probably pick up on this later. We have a party to go to."

"Is it just because you want to see Estelle in a dress?" Kiryll suddenly blurted with a smile.

Yuri's face turned red as he slammed the door behind him. Kiryll held his mouth to prevent himself from laughing out loud. Suddenly, he felt a strange wind around him. A card flew out of his body and began glowing, revealing a figure that resembled a king.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** It was Yuri in a deeper voice…or was it someone different? **"I, THE EMPEROR OF MAN, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND…"**

The card sank back into his body as Kiryll looked up at the door that he had left through. He shook it off and headed out the door, going to the party that he was invited for.

"" "" ""

**If anyone's curious, the party outfit Yuri has is his "True Knight" costume XD**


	29. The Party They Can't Forget :SUN:

**So now it's time for Kiryll to party with the upper-class! But he still has a duty to fulfill: make sure that the party goes off without a hitch. Will the Vanguard actually attack? Who knows?**

"" "" ""

As he entered the large ballroom, he noticed that the inside was beautifully decorated. There were velvet drapes everywhere that he went, creating small rooms at which people were talking and dancing the night away. When he turned a corner, he saw Zelos talking to a few women with a smile on his face.

_Seducing girls, huh?_ Kiryll shrugged and walked away.

He began to look around for any familiar faces. Sure enough, he saw Stahn snacking away at the bar with a few shocked faces around him. His noble outfit didn't look all that bad, though that was based off the small amount that he could see from behind the table. Arche was a few feet away, talking to Marta and Emil about something. Unlike the others, Arche didn't seem to have a fancy outfit at all, looking more like a magical girl. _Wonder if the outfit was just as mobile as what Yuri got?_

"You are Kiryll Nightroad."

He turned his head around to see a young girl standing behind him. She had short green hair with wrapped bangs and was hold a prong in her hands as if it was a staff. Her outfit consisted of a white robe that passed to her thighs, which was covered with white tights and shoes. Her face was extremely innocent, but looked dead serious.

"That's me." He answered, leaning down to her level. "Is there…something that you need?"

"My name is Ion of the Order of Lorelei." She answered.

"The Order of Lorelei-!" He jumped backward, almost bumping into someone. "You're-"

"I am separate from the Order of the Sacred Pentagram, and therefore, I assure you no harm." She said with a smile. "I came here to tell you that."

"Oh…I see." Kiryll smiled. "Thank you for telling me that, Ion."

"Ion…! There you are!"

He turned his head upward to see a girl running toward them. She had pigtails in her hair and was wearing a simple pink robe, similar to what Ion was wearing. A doll was dangling from her back, somehow able to stay there despite the fact that it didn't seem to be attached to anything.

"I've been looking all over for you!" She sighed. "You have to stop running around like that!"

"I'm fine, Anise." Ion answered with a smile. "I was just talking to him."

"Who? Oh!" She turned to Kiryll. "You're the fabled Wild Card, aren't you?"

"U-uh…" Kiryll backed up.

"Anise, please. You're scaring him." Ion turned to him. "This is Anise Tatlin, my bodyguard. Anise, this is Kiryll Nightroad."

"Oh woooow…you're a lot more handsome than I thought you were!" She had sparkles in her eyes.

"Th-thank you…" Kiryll felt extremely intimidated. "Oh, wait. You're from the Order of Lorelei. That must make you a Fon Master, then."

"Yes, I am." Ion nodded.

"It must be hard to run an entire organization on your own." He grinned.

"I have the support of all of my friends. Running the Order is not hard." Ion smiled. "Thank you for your consideration."

"Ion, you have to meet up with Emperor Peony now." Anise said.

"Of course." She turned to Kiryll. "It was nice talking to you."

"Of course, Fon Master."

He waited as they walked away from him. It was then that a strange thought crossed his mind: _Fon Masters had a habit of being male. It was done like that because it was supposed to be a symbol of how Lorelei chose to assume a male form when he descended onto the planet._ Why would they suddenly decide that they were going to make the recent one a girl?

_**Unless…**_

His face went pale white. _Was Ion aware of the fact that he was wearing girl's clothing?_ He couldn't help but wonder if it was something that Anise was a part of. Then again, remembering what Anise was doing to him just a few seconds ago…

"Kiryll? Are you OK?"

"Wha-?" He turned his head. "Oh…Flynn. I was just talking to Fon Master Ion."

"Ah, I get it." Flynn chuckled. "Don't worry about it. It took me a while to accept the fact that the Fon Master was a boy."

"So, I'm not the only one who made that mistake. That's good to hear…" He looked to Flynn. "You look nice. I thought that you would still be in that armor."

"I thought so too. But apparently they wanted me to wear this instead." Flynn looked down. "I never quite got why either."

Kiryll looked down at his outfit. It consisted of a purple jacket with a strange purple hat on his head. The hat didn't seem to preoccupy the entire head, making him wonder just how in the world the hat is still on his head. Part of him just wanted to push it off.

"Well…it looks comfortable enough." Kiryll found himself saying. "Big enough to hide your sword in."

"True." He flipped his jacket a little, revealing his blade underneath it. "But still, I do prefer my armor to that."

_I wonder why that is…_ Kiryll wondered. "Oh yeah, I talked to Yuri before I got here. He mentioned something about being a royal knight for a while. Is it true?"

"Nothing but the truth." Flynn chuckled. "He was actually stronger than me. The only problem is that he never had the patience of a knight."

"Oh yeah, he mentioned something about that." Kiryll blinked. "Somewhere along the lines of that he joined the knights only to help to lower class, and realizing that he wasn't doing anything."

"He doesn't get it, and I can't blame him. He's the type of person who expects immediate change through the small problems that come up." Flynn turned to Kiryll. "That method does work from time to time. But if he really wants things to change, he has to do things from the inside out. Take care of the bigger problems first. The smaller ones will go away."

"But sometimes the small problems take care of the bigger ones." Kiryll stated. "Have you ever considered that?"

"Yes, I have. It's rare, and it's only when Yuri's involved." Flynn grinned. "That's why I leave that to him."

"Out of all of the people in the royal knights, I might have to say that you're the only person that trusts him." Kiryll laughed. "Well, I guess Estelle counts too."

"Lady Estellise owes a lot to Yuri." Flynn turned to see Yuri and Estelle talking a few feet away. "It was through meeting him that she desired the want to travel the world. Up until then, she didn't mind that she was stuck inside of the castle."

"Wow." Kiryll smiled. "They both seem to like each other a lot."

"I believe that's true on Estellise's account, but I'm not so sure on Yuri." Flynn laughed. "In fact, I'm surprised that he can tell the difference between a man and a woman!"

_Oh, is that it?_ Kiryll held back a chuckle.

Suddenly, a loud shattering noise caught everyone's attention. Turning their heads, they saw what looked like Vanguard soldiers rushing into the room. Fortunately, the nobles were being properly escorted out by the others as they fought them off. Kiryll grabbed his scythe and mowed down an entire row of fighters.

"Wow…so that's the power of the cross." Flynn gawked.

"That's not even the most of it." Kiryll stood. "I haven't even figured it out yet."

As quickly as the fighting started, it stopped. Everyone backed up as a man slowly walked into the room. He was bald and extremely tall with a large scarlet robe and a staff in his hands. Next to him were Alice and Decus, evil smiles plastered on all of their faces.

"So…Wild Card. You really are here." The man grinned.

"The leader of the Vanguard…Brute!" Stahn flipped out his blade. "Finally reared over his ugly head!"

"Don't speak to the leader like that!" Alice sneered, a smile still on her face.

"But…I don't get it." Flynn looked confused. "I thought you were going for the liberation of Sylvarant. We're giving Sylvarant back to the people!"

"You of all creations have no right to tell me anything!" Brute lifted his staff. "You have no idea what my true goals are!"

The staff began to emit a strange, low frequency, pounding everyone to their knees. Kiryll felt himself being drained of all energy, barely being able to stand. He turned toward Flynn and gasped: he was holding his ears as if it was high pitched, and what was worse was that it looked like his body was breaking down into fonons. He darted his head to Veigue a few feet away, and realized that the same thing was happening to him as well.

"Flynn?" Yuri looked up.

"Filthy replica, you don't hold a clue about anything!" Brute walked up to Flynn, who was still holding his ears. "Sylvarant held the most powerful monarchy in the world, until Tethe'alla burned it to the ground. I don't want liberation, **I WANT SYLVARANT!"**

"_You…want…the throne…"_ Flynn muttered underneath his pain.

"Correct. I want to restore Sylvarant's powerful monarchy and unite Auldrant under my name." Brute grinned. "This is the perfect place to begin!"

It was then that Kiryll found the power to throw his scythe at Brute. He quickly dodged out of the way, stopping the attack. Flynn and Veigue collapsed onto the ground, their bodies still breaking down. But at least all of them were able to get to their feet.

"You are just insane!" Arche flew over their heads. "There is no way that anyone would bow down to you!"

"Why do you think that I have the Vanguard?" Brute laughed. "All of them will be more than happy to watch me obtain the crown!"

"W-w-well…y-y-you're going to have a problem with that, you know!" Kyle stammered out, his blade shaking. "Cause…we got a…uh…person that could…uh…beat you down! Yeah, that's right! We have someone that is much more suited to becoming king of Sylvarant!"

"Really?" Decus grinned. "Who is it?"

"Well…uh…t-th-that's a good question! You see...this person can kick all of your behinds! Just the mention of their name can make you cry!" Kyle obviously had no idea what he was saying.

"Then tell me his name. Let's see if we'll cry." Alice grinned.

"Well…then…uh…" Kyle was panicking right now. "You see…uh…"

"He's talking about the heir to the throne."

Everyone darted their heads up to see Yuri standing there with a blank look on his face. Kiryll wondered what he was planning on doing with Kyle's lie. But whatever he was talking about, it was obviously catching Brute's attention. His eyes were wide.

"Haven't any of you guys considered the fact that the royal bloodline was still out there despite the fact that the kingdom was down?" He answered. "There will be rebels out there when you take the throne, and most importantly they'll look to the heir for support. I would suggest that you look for him first before you think about the throne."

"The heir…the one who holds the secrets to the past…" Brute grinned. "You must know of the need of the kingdom to tell us something of this magnitude, hm?"

"Maybe." Yuri grinned. "Or maybe not. The race is on, I guess."

The Vanguard looked at each other before they all ran out of the building, much to everyone's confusion. Trying to wipe out that factor of confusion, they turned toward Yuri, who still had that grin on his face.

"That was a lie…right?" Kyle asked.

"Of course." Yuri laughed. "It's the only way to get them out of the room…"

He completely ignored that statement and ran toward Flynn, who was still unconscious and fading away fast. Kiryll looked up and saw Veigue rising up to his feet, the bright light fading away from his frame and slowly returning to normal. He walked toward the group.

"The fonons that create his body are dissipating." Veigue looked at Flynn. "He's dying."

"We have to do something!" Arche panicked. "Does anyone have any knowledge of what to do in this situation?"

"Veigue, you're a replica, right?" Yuri looked up. "What did you do?"

"I focused my mind and was able to keep my body from fading. However, Flynn is unconscious right now. Focusing for him is impossible."

"Don't tell me that there's nothing we can do…!" Stahn panicked. "Maybe if we can get someone to focus for him-!"

"That's going to be hard for any of you." Veigue stated. "In order for any of you to do that, you would need his original to do so."

"What, like hunt the guy down?" Arche panicked again. "You do realize that this guy could be _ANYWHERE,_ right?"

"Let me try it!"

Everyone turned their heads to see Guy standing just a few feet away from them. They backed up as Guy ran up and touched the back of Flynn's head, closing his eyes. After a few long, tense minutes, the glow faded. A few more minutes passed before Flynn opened his eyes.

"He's alive!" Arche jumped to her feet, her hands in the air. **"****HE'S ALIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!****"**

"Unh…wh-what just…?" Flynn sat up. "Is the Vanguard…?"

"They're not here! We threw them on a wild goose chase!" Stahn grinned. "There aren't any casualties!"

"Is…is that so…?" Flynn looked down.

"" "" ""

After the party, all the nobles came together for another conference concerning what had just happened. Naturally, everyone had to come and play the role of bodyguard. Odd enough, Kiryll couldn't find Flynn anywhere, so he jumped out to look for him. He found him standing in the middle of the main square staring at the moon.

"There you are." Kiryll chuckled. "We were worried about you."

"Kiryll…" Flynn looked down. "I-I'll be there. Don't worry about me."

"It's concerning what Brute said, isn't it?" He said. "About you being a replica."

"…you know, I met up with Guy while we were on patrol duty. I thought it was strange that we looked so alike." Flynn sighed. "I didn't know that it would be something like this."

"You don't have to worry about being one." Kiryll smiled. "From what I heard, it's no different from being an ordinary human. In fact, you didn't see a difference either!"

"Kiryll?"

"Don't take my word for it. Veigue's a replica as well." Kiryll explained. "If you want any answers, you can try talking to him. But you should remember that you're still a living being that deserves to live."

"Do you think…that Guy would accept me?"

"Replicas and originals can live in peace, Flynn. Prince Garr and Veigue are living, breathing examples."

"…thank you, Kiryll…" His eyes widened. "Of course! The nobles! We have to be there!"

Flynn immediately dashed out of the square towards the castle, much to Kiryll's amusement. He was about to follow him when his body began to glow. A card shot out of his chest, revealing the image of a sun with a smiling human face on it.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** It was Flynn's voice…only deeper. **"I, THE SUN THAT ILLUMINATES THE DARKESS, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."**

The card sank back into his body, and Kiryll felt himself getting stronger from the boost. He's yet to understand what that meant. Looking up, he saw Flynn waving him down. Panicked, he quickly ran to the castle, hoping that he isn't needed.

"" "" ""

**Just so you know, Flynn's costume in the party was his Fredric Chopin costume.**


	30. Social Links :DEATH: :TOWER:

**A lot has happened ever since the Vanguard began "hunting" down the heir to the Sylvarant throne. As for Flynn, he has a lot to deal with now that he learns that he is the replica for Guy Cecil. What is going to happen now? Can anything good come out of this?**

"" "" ""

The meeting took a few long hours. It was more than enough time for Kiryll to fall asleep twice and for Arche to beat Marta in what was a heated battle of "Slaps". Flynn seemed to lighten up about the whole issue about him being a replica, and was asking Veigue a lot of questions concerning replicas _(something Yuri states is really odd)_.

"Oh yeah…" Kiryll looked around as he wiped the sleepiness from his eyes. "Has anyone seen Kyle around?"

"He has guard duty on the other side." Stahn answered. "But I think he's mostly embarrassed."

"Embarrassed? About what?"

"If you don't remember, it's best not to talk about it." He said with a smirk.

"_**?"**_

The council went on for another hour _(he heard yelling from the room from time to time) _before the doors opened again. The girl named Natalia came out, catching eye contact with Kiryll. He took that as a sign to come to her, so he jumped over Stahn's extended legs.

"What did everyone decide to do?" He asked.

"We all decided that the Vanguard should not be able to go any farther with their plans." She answered. "Plus, we are going to have personal commanders begin their search for the heir of Sylvarant."

"T-the heir…?" Kiryll blinked. "But that was-"

"The king has told us that when the kingdom of Sylvarant had been taken over, the family went into exile. There is a possibility that the bloodline is still active." Natalia looked up. "Can I trust Ad Libitum to aid our search?"

"Of course. We have to stop the Vanguard in whatever way possible." He smiled.

"Thank you."

She turned and walked away, leaving Kiryll alone. He turned around and saw that the guards that he was with were now leaning toward him with a keen sense of interest in their faces. He had to admit, they looked just a tad bit scary.

"What'd she say?" Marta asked.

"Well, the council said that they were going to go look for the heir of Sylvarant while suppressing the Vanguard." Kiryll answered. "They said that the family bloodline is still alive, so…"

"Wait, **WHAT?****"** Stahn darted up to his feet. "Like…there's an _actual_ heir to the throne?"

"That's what Princess Natalia said." He answered nonchalantly.

"Oh that is just great. One lie places a _whole_ family in danger!" Stahn turned to Yuri. "Besides, how in the world did you out of all people know about the heir being alive?"

"I already told you. It seemed to be the only excuse that would get those guys out of there." Yuri answered nonchalantly. "How was I supposed to know that I would be telling the truth?"

"OK, at least show some form of worry or something!" Stahn said.

"About what?" He retaliated.

"Yuri, there's a chance that the heir to the throne could be found by the Vanguard before we can get to them." Flynn explained.

"I'll worry about them later. First of all, no one has any leads on these guys. Knowing the amount of luck they might have, they probably all died of natural causes." Yuri stood up. "I'll take my chances and wait. You guys can do all the searching."

_Wow…I never knew that Yuri could be so cold._ Kiryll thought. _I wonder why?_

Footsteps echoed behind them, and they turned around to see a man completely covered in armor walk toward them. Kiryll recognized him as Alexei, the commander of Zaphias's royal knights, and the one who seemed to take a bit of joy from when Chloe was digging a sword in his shoulder. He cringed, especially when he turned toward Veigue and chuckled under his breath. However, his attention seemed to be caught by something else.

"Flynn. I was just looking for you." He said.

Kiryll noticed that Flynn cringed at the mention of his name, which struck him odd. He didn't seem to be scared of the Commandant before. _**What changed?**_

"Is there something you need, Commandant?" Flynn asked, playing off his fear.

"Of course. You've probably already heard about the search for Sylvarant's long lost prince, haven't you?" Alexei grinned _(almost like he was plotting something)_. "I want you to lead the Zaphias army on that search, on behalf of the kingdom."

"…I would love to…but I think that I should conduct a separate search." Flynn answered. "With Ad Libitum."

"With the guilds?" Alexei looked confused. "Since when did you decide to aid them?"

"I just think that…it would be easier if I broaden my horizons and look everywhere instead of the more likely areas." He said. "I will report to you, of course."

"If that's what you want to do…" He turned around. "I hope you don't come to regret your decision. Just don't get yourself killed."

Everyone watched as he slowly walked away from the group. Kiryll noticed that he met up with the girl named Sodia and told her something. She glared at Kiryll again before walking away, making him wonder if he told her something about him.

"What a way of completely shooting down your commander." Arche giggled. "He didn't seem to be the nice type."

"Speaking of which…" Yuri turned to his friend. "You're not the type to be breaking away from the royal knights like that. What caused that?"

"…He never really liked what I am." Was his only reply.

"That is…complete bullcrap." Stahn pointed out. "You have the skills to be second-in-command, dude! Why would he hate you?"

"He meant that Alexei holds prejudice over replicas." Veigue looked at where Alexei left. "That look in his eyes…he obviously sees himself as superior over them."

"That's the viewpoint for a lot of people these days." Kiryll folded his arms. "Then again, when he wished Flynn luck, he sounded sarcastic."

"That proves it. He definitely knows about what happened to you with the Vanguard." Marta looked at Flynn. "Do you think that you can handle going back to them once you're done with your search?"

"I won't go back…not that quickly." He smiled. "I want to find myself again. After learning about my true story, I kind of lost who I really am. I'll go back once I reclaim my identity as Flynn Scifo, and not just a replica."

"That seems like a plan!" Stahn grinned.

"Welcome aboard, Flynn." Yuri laughed. "Though don't expect Chat to hold any good thoughts on you. She's completely aware of the Knights-VS-Guilds war."

"That's fine." Flynn smiled. "I'll represent my team with a passion."

_Now this just feels like a sports game…_ Kiryll thought.

"" "" ""

They were planning to stay the night in the city before heading off on their search for the prince. Kiryll sighed as he decided to spend his time hanging out alone in the enormous city. Not surprisingly, it was extremely beautiful in the nighttime, when the stars help illuminate the massive city.

"Too slow."

Kiryll darted his head around to see Asch the Bloody standing just a few feet away from him. Instantly, he pulled out his cross necklace and formed it into a scythe, causing Asch to pull out his own blade. Kiryll felt the sweat rolling down his back. _When did he get in Meltokio?_

"Fortunately for you, I'm only here to give you a message." Asch answered, lowering his hand.

"A…message?" Kiryll looked confused.

"You're looking for the heir of Sylvarant, am I right?" He sheathed his blade. "You should be aware that the Star Order's looking for him too."

"The Star Order's looking for him too?" He jumped. "But…why? I thought I was on top of the agenda."

"You are. But reinforcing the power of the Pentagram is higher than that. They're planning on using Sylvarant as the main base to reinforce the power of the God Generals." Asch told him.

"And they'll do that by helping the heir back on the throne…against the Vanguard's will?" Kiryll rubbed the back of his head. "Why are you telling me all this? You could've easily just knocked me out and dragged me back to the Star Order, you know…"

"I would. But unlike the others, I don't fully trust what they want with you." Asch turned to walk away. "You better head back to your guild before someone else finds you."

"…One question." Kiryll said, his scythe still in his hand. "Does the name Luke Fon Fabre sound familiar to you?"

Asch froze. Kiryll took that as a yes.

"I might've…a long time ago." He started walking away. "You better leave now, before I change my mind."

Slowly, Kiryll watched as Asch descended into the shadows from where he arrived. After concluding that he was gone, Kiryll returned his scythe to its original form. Suddenly, he body began to glow, and a tarot card shot out of his body. The symbol was that of death.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** The card said, in Asch's deep voice.

Oddly enough, it sank back into his body before it said anything else. Kiryll looked confused. _Wasn't the card supposed to say something like he'll obey my every command or something like that?_ He couldn't help but wonder if it had said it, but he wasn't paying attention.

"You haven't gained his full trust! That's why it hadn't pledged allegiance with you."

He darted his head up to see another figure walk through the shadows. It wasn't Asch as he previously thought, but it was a woman. She had short, pink hair and purple eyes, wearing a bright blue outfit and carrying a huge staff. His eyes widened.

"You're Harold." He answered.

"You remember me! How nice of you!" She smiled, walking to his side. "You're probably wondering what just happened, right? And by the look on your face, this isn't the first time that you've seen this happen."

"…So you know what this is all about, then." Kiryll said.

"The tarot cards that you use to summon your Persona don't just hold pieces of your soul. They hold your connections to others." Harold grinned. "The proper term for these connections is Shakai Rinku, but for you…the term you can use is Social Links."

"Social Links…" Kiryll scratched his cheek. For something extremely important to his power to have such a simple name…

"You have a mystery on your hands. This can only be solved by using the power hidden deep inside yourself to dig through all the answers. The only problem is that you alone don't have the power to find those answers. That's when Social Links come in." Harold lifted up her finger. "There are twenty-two types of Arcana in the world. Hence, in order for you to completely find the answers that you seek, you must open the hearts of twenty-two people."

"Wait…" Kiryll blinked. "**ANY** twenty-two people? Because I don't think it could be that easy."

"No, of course not. God forbid something easy comes to you! Hahaha, I'm kidding." Harold laughed. "But seriously, it's not just any person. These people have their own problems and issues that they need answers to. In a sense, you are the Social Link to help them solve their problems, just as they are the ones that can help you. It's an ever-growing web, where the only people that can make you stronger are the same people that need your help."

"So…Asch needs my help." Kiryll said.

"As well as the other twenty-one individuals that need answers to questions that they have." Harold smiled. "Including me."

Kiryll was about to question what she meant when a card flew out of his body. The image that was on top of this card was a tower, hovering over shaking ground. Next to him, Harold didn't seem the least bit startled from what she was seeing.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** The card said, in Harold's deep voice.

The card sank back into his body before she could say the next verse. Confused, he turned back to her, who held that smile on her face as if she has the answer to the question that was lingering in his head.

"Of course, I can't fully trust you as of right now." Harold explained. "When the time comes that I fully trust you, you will hear the full pledge of a Social Link."

"What is that pledge?" Kiryll asked.

"You'll know it when you hear it."

He was about to ask when she started heading toward the ship for the night, waving at him to join her. Confused, he went to follow her, wondering just what she meant by "the full pledge" and just how deep the Social Links can actually go.

"" "" ""

The amount of confusion running through his brain made him decide that he was going to have to think this out on the deck. After deciding that Harold had gone missing _(even though she was in front of him for about half the time that he was headed toward this area)_, he went to the deck alone and stared at the moon.

_The people who need answers are the exact people that will help me remember my past. Who are the ones that I encountered so far?_ He lifted his fingers. _There's Asch…and then Norma. Leon I remember, since he was the Justice card…Flynn. And then-_

"Well, isn't this a small world."

Kiryll darted his head up to see Yuri standing there with a smile on his face. He was still in his uniform, which confused him.

"I thought you'd be the first person out of your party gown." He grinned.

"What can I say? Estelle insisted that I keep it as a memento." Yuri joined him.

"Well, I can understand that. You look nice in it." Kiryll's grin went down a little bit. "Actually, I want to ask how Flynn is doing."

"Don't worry about him. He's actually hanging out with Guy as we speak. It's almost as if they're long lost brothers." Yuri grinned. "Shouldn't you be worried about the prince right now?"

"O-Of course! Now I remember what he told me…" Kiryll looked up. "I had a run-in with Asch earlier."

"The God General?" Yuri looked concerned. "Well, you don't look hurt."

"He said he only found me to give me a message concerning the heir." Kiryll folded his arms. "The Star Order is after him as well."

"Wait, let me back up for a minute…you're telling me that the whole world is looking for this one person now?" He sighed. "Not to sound mean, but what ever happened to chasing you down?"

"They're planning on using the heir to reinforce the power of the Star Order." He answered. "I think that they're going to use the power they'll obtain when they get the prince into power to label me as a criminal all around the world…"

"So that they alone don't have to hunt the Wild Card. Killing two birds with one stone. I'm not surprised." Yuri held the grin on his face. "But you don't have to worry. If this prince has any form of common logic, he won't do something like that to you."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because…" Yuri looked around before leaning in. _"I know who the prince is."_

"_You do?"_ Kiryll jumped back. "No wonder you were so calm about it before! Who is it?"

"Simple." Yuri smiled. "Me."

Kiryll's jaw went wide open. Any form of logic that he held for the mysterious young man jumped overboard to drown. Yuri Lowell, the man that wanders the world just for the heck of it…_**prince of SYLVARANT?**_ The look on his face made Yuri laugh.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." He grinned. "That's what you get when you believe anything out of people's mouths."

"If you're going to joke about something…try something less…_**shocking."**_ Kiryll sighed, trying to return his heartbeat to normal.

"Sorry, sorry. I thought you wouldn't be as shocked." Yuri straightened out. "But seriously, if you want to find this man, you have to be able to separate fact from fiction. Believing anything that you're told just makes everyone else one step closer to him."

"So I can't go with every single lead that I get." Kiryll answered.

"Exactly." Yuri grinned. "Now you're getting somewhere."

"…I should be thinking this out…but…I can't think straight." Kiryll passed him. "I'll turn in early."

"All right." He answered. "Just watch out when you're heading in. Arche wants someone to sample her cooking."

"Like I need more random occurrences to happen."

Kiryll stretched and laughed as he walked into the elevator, leaving Yuri alone to bask in the moonlight. The ship will be departing tomorrow on their hunt for the prince, all while keeping Kiryll safe in case the Star Order takes advantage of chaotic situation. Hopefully, the massive amount of allies they have will protect the Wild Card long enough to find the heir.

"" "" ""

**To all of you who fell out of your seats when you read Yuri's above statement, I laugh at you.**


	31. Arrival of the Hunters

**With the hunt for the Sylvarant heir going on, Kiryll decides that he'll wait until tomorrow in order to start the search. However, he is still top on the Wanted List on three major figureheads. The only thing he can do is hope that he can clear his brain in the small night that he has.**

"" "" ""

Despite what Yuri warned him, Kiryll found no one in the lobby when he descended from the elevator. The faint voices echoing from the nearby doors made him conclude that they were either talking about missions or being shown around the ship. He rubbed the back of his head and wondered just how many people joined the guild in search for Sylvarant's prince.

"Kiryll."

"Hm?" He turned his head around. "Oh…Marian. Can you tell me what's going on here? The ship sounds louder than usual."

"According to Prince Garr, the council has sent their own personal armies to search for Sylvarant's heir. Also, they have sent a few of their best warriors to use the guild to further their search." Marian answered. "As a result, these warriors are now a part of Ad Libitum."

"So the registration of this guild increased tenfold?" Kiryll's eyes widened. "That's…interesting. Anyone that I might know?"

"Senel Coolidge from Phandaria has joined the guild." She answered, lifting her fingers. "Sheena and Suzu Fujibayashi from some secret city in Tethe'alla…these two people from the Karegia kingdom _(I think one of them is a Gajuma)_…and then there were these strange people from the Legacy…oh, which reminds me that we recruited another technician for maintenance reasons."

"All right, all right, I get it. There are a lot of people now." Kiryll lifted his hands. "You don't have to tell me all their names."

"Oh, yes, I have to tell you about the royalties." Marian didn't seem to hear him. "Fon Master Ion and his bodyguard Anise have joined us…Natalia of Kimlasca…and this young man from Lhant…oh, what was his name?"

_She's not listening to me…_ He thought. _Maybe if I walk away now, she'll stop…_

He slowly backed up from his position when he felt himself bump into someone. Turning around, he saw the figure of a woman staring back at him. She had spiky purple hair tied up with a pink ribbon, wearing a ninja garb that was a bright purple _(contradicting the black outfits that he thought normal ninjas wore)_.

"Ah, Sheena." Marian bowed.

"You must be Nightroad." The woman looked at him with a blank face.

"Uh…my name is Kiryll…" He responded, confused.

"So I was right." She answered. "The one that started this entire incident."

"I haven't actually started it…the Vanguard started it themselves." Kiryll answered. "Besides-"

He suddenly felt dizzy. His vision began to blur, causing him to sway and sit at the nearest table. Through what he could see, he saw Marian leaning over him, trying to talk to him. He pulled out words and came to the conclusion that she was worried.

"I'm…fine. Just a little dizzy." He said. "I should…go take an early rest."

"Le…ome…yo…" He heard Marian say.

He stood up, trying to seem normal, only to find himself stumbling in place. An arm was reached over, and he realized that Marian had taken over his control _(a welcome relief)_. As they stumbled over to his room, he noticed that Sheena was still looking at him.

"" "" ""

The minute he collapsed on his bed, he was out…or at least, it felt like it. His mind had wandered into complete darkness, and his body refused to cooperate with him. Yet, despite what he had previously thought, his senses were still keenly sharp. He could hear the footsteps coming from outside his door, wandering the hallway as if they were lost.

_What in the world is going on with me?_ He thought. _I was fine just a few minutes ago…did the Vanguard so something to me?_

Suddenly, he heard a door opening just a few feet away from him. The footsteps were dead silent; he was surprised that he could hear them at all. Just as quietly, he heard the sound of a blade being drawn from a sheath. It sounded close…almost as if…

_Come on, body…move!_

His muscles twitched as he regained control of his body. He opened his eyes to see a shadow with a dagger, and quickly flipped out of the way. Looking up, he saw the shadow turn toward him and throw what looked like to be seals at him. Regaining what little energy he had, he dashed out of the door in the hallway.

_**Bright lights were flashing onto their faces…it looked as if it was in the middle of a forest.**_

Looking behind him, he noticed a shine that looked like to be a blade. What sucked was that all the lights in the ship were off, making him unable to see who was actually attacking him.

"_**What are Hunters doing here?"**_

"_**Come on, this way!"**_

He flipped over five thrown seals as the headache that he had was slowly getting worse. Whoever this person was…it was a Hunter.

_**There was nothing more than blisters and bruises while they ran. There was screaming from behind them, and arrows whizzing past their ears.**_

His jumping around finally allowed him to crash somewhere. Looking up, he realized that he was in the middle of the coliseum without any lights on. The footsteps echoed behind him, the figure now illuminated by the moonlight that shone through the window.

"…Sheena."

"So you remember me." She lifted up four more seals. "Good. At least we can pass the introductions."

"…Why? Why are you doing this?"

"Because this is my job." She walked in closer. "You're the reason why all of this is going on, right? That means if I take you out of the equation, the world will be at peace…"

"_**Go, run now! I'll distract them!"**_

"So you're a Hunter…"

"Just another reason why I was chosen for the job." Sheena answered. "Plus, it gives my companion here a chance for revenge."

"Reve-"

"_**No! I'm not leaving you!"**_

He heard a crash from a few feet away. He was barely able to jump away from the attack before Sheena threw her seals, making him crash into the wall. Looking up, he realized that it was Chloe. She held her gaze on him as he slowly went up to his feet.

"Chloe…so that grudge for me is still there." He answered with a blank voice.

"It will always be there with me…" She answered coldly. "You heartless murderer…"

"_**KANATA!"**_

He heard a faint voice from the back of his head, but he couldn't string them together into words. Suddenly, he heard screaming from the back of his head and a destruction of a tarot card. Immediately, he lost consciousness and fell onto the ground. Sheena and Chloe hovered over his body.

"That was easy. What type of poison did you give him?" Chloe looked at her.

"Nothing too strong. The Cruxis Crystal is going to be affected by the poison if you give the body anything too strong." Sheena answered. "Remember, he wants the crystal as proof of the kill."

"Yeah, that's true. All Hunters usually take Cruxis Crystals as part of the kill."

The both of them turned around to see Yuri and Norma standing opposite of the door, their weapons out ready to use. Yuri was staring at them as if he had known this was going to happen this entire time, but Norma was staring at them as if this was the last thing that she expected was going to happen.

"Care if I ask who had the money to place this hit?" Yuri asked. "Was it the Star Order? Or anyone from the government that we just happen to know?"

"This is none of your concern." Chloe lifted up her blade. "This is just our job."

"But that's Kiryll!" Norma answered. "His Cruxis Crystal is too dangerous to be left alone! Have you guys ever considered the fact that releasing that type of power is a **BAD IDEA?"**

Sheena hesitated when she heard that statement, but Chloe didn't seem to let up. Suddenly, a deep laugh echoed throughout the empty coliseum. Turning around, they saw Kiryll slowly rising to his feet. The both of them slowly backed up in confusion.

"_Humans…I never liked how you treated my race…"_ He muttered.

"What's this?"

Kiryll looked up toward them, revealing the deep black that replaced his golden eyes. When he expanded his wings, it held a strange yellow tint to them. It didn't make sense, since Kiryll's wings were pure white. Yuri instantly remembered what was going to happen and turned to Norma.

"Norma…I want you to get Jade over here. Tell him that it's happening again."

"What? Wait, what are you going to do?"

"Easy. I'm going to make sure that he doesn't leave the room." Yuri lifted his blade. "Quick, before he does something to you."

Norma nodded and immediately headed out of the room. Now that she was safe, Yuri ran in front of the girls just as Kiryll drew his silver scythe to attack. Their blades rang out so loudly that the shockwave itself threw the other girls off their feet.

"Not bad for a human." Kiryll grinned. "I'm going to have a lot of fun with you!"

"I'm sorry, but we're going to have to cut this party short." Yuri threw him off. "We can't let you harm these ladies, now can we?"

"Like you actually care about what happens to them." He answered with his deep voice. "These are Hunters we're dealing with, Yuri. They don't care about people like me."

"With an attitude like that…no wonder they don't." He lifted up his blade. "So…where was this 'fun' that you wanted?"

"Oh…sorry about that." Kiryll spun his blade around. "Let's begin, shall we?"

Just after that statement ended, Kiryll was in the air. Yuri was able to dodge just as he crashed onto the ground, retaliating with Azure Edge. After a few minutes of intense swordplay _(the girls weren't moving out of pure shock)_, Kiryll pinned Yuri into the ground.

"Wasn't this a swell time?" Kiryll laughed.

"Tch." He looked up at him. "Damn it, what is going on with you?"

"Redirect that question to the world." His scythe turned into a silver katana and hovered just a few inches from Yuri's face. "I barely have enough problems to balance out what this miserable planet has!"

"…" Yuri looked up with a calm face. "Kyra."

Instantly, he hesitated. Yuri pushed him off and slashed him the front, phasing off behind him before landing another blow. He staggered back and looked at the blood dripping from his body, a strange look upon his face. When he looked up to him, Yuri noticed that his eyes were gold.

"Are you back with us?" Yuri asked.

"…what happened?" Kiryll looked back down.

"Wish I knew. You just blew up out of nowhere and attacked." Yuri walked up to him. "You're OK, right?"

"…actually…I feel _**great!"**_

Yuri flinched as he saw his right hand form into a bone arm and crushed him into the wall. The shock made him drop his blade and pass out for a whole second. When he came to, he noticed that Kiryll's eyes weren't black as he thought: his eyes were now both gold and red.

"Gggh…!" He tried to turn his head. "G-Guede?"

"Finally…I finally have my Cruxis Crystal back!" His voice was different again. "I must thank you for allowing me this opportunity!"

"W-what? Your Cruxis-" The fingers around him tightened. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Like I should tell a worthless human like you!" Kiryll growled. "Don't you realize just how powerless you are to me…to us?"

"_**New Moon Blade!"**_

Kiryll jumped out of the way as Chloe stabbed her blade toward him. As he staggered back, Chloe slashed him twice before rapidly thrusting her blade at him. He couldn't dodge all of the attacks, hindering his speed before she charged underneath him.

"This is the end…" She growled. _**"Sword Rain: Alpha!"**_

Her blade crashed onto his body, causing him to spiral in the air. As he thudded onto the ground, the door swung open, revealing Jade and Norma running through. Kiryll darted his head toward Jade, who quickly summoned out his spear as he propped his glasses.

"So…you finally reestablished the connection." Jade said coldly.

"It's nice to see a familiar face again." Kiryll growled, his voice now completely similar to Guede. "Too bad that there's nothing you can do. I already have my Cruxis Crystal back, so now I have the power!"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that."

Kiryll was about to ask when he noticed that his left hand was starting to twitch. Slowly, it rose into the air and reached over to his cross. Kiryll cringed at what was happening and tried to stop it, but Norma blew a huge bubble that trapped his arm inside of it. Before anyone could say anything, it pulled out a golden broadsword. Instantly, his right arm faded back into its original form. When he looked up, golden eyes stared back at them.

"Are you normal _now?"_ Norma asked.

And then he fainted.

"" "" ""

Everyone gathered around in his room as Kiryll slept peacefully in his bed. For the most part, everyone was looking over at Sheena and Chloe with wary eyes, something that they were somehow willing to accept. After a few tense minutes, Stahn and Arche charged into the room.

"All right, what happened?" Arche demanded.

"_Shhhh! You'll wake up Kiryll!"_ Norma pointed at him.

"Ack! Sorry…but seriously, what happened?"

"Hunters attacked him in his sleep." Jade answered. "And if you're curious, they're right there."

"What? Are you serious?" Stahn darted his head toward Yuri. "I had NO idea you were a Hunter!"

"Not me…them." Yuri pointed at the girls.

"Hah…? Oh, yeah of course!" He darted his head toward the girls. "All right, who paid you? Who ordered the hit?"

"…would you really want to know?" Sheena answered.

"Yes, of course! This is my friend over there, unconscious because of what you did to him!" Stahn argued. "Like, seriously!"

"I think we're better off asking Jade there what he was talking about earlier." Chloe answered.

"Don't change the question!" Arche spat.

"Actually, I was thinking the same thing." Yuri looked at Jade. "What did you mean by 'reestablishing' a connection?"

Stahn and Arche started darting their heads between the two of them as they began to throw out the question: _**Where do they start first?**_

"" "" ""

**So yeah…expect the majority of all characters inside Ad Libitum at this time. Most of them won't be making cameo appearances **_**(due to the fact that THERE IS NOT ENOUGH ROOM TO MENTION THEM ALL)**_**, and that they'll only be mentioned in the side-fic. Oh yeah, characters from ****Tempest****, ****Innocence**** and ****Hearts**** won't be in this. Just so you know.**


	32. What Could They Tell Us? :FOOL:

**Crazy stuff has happened in the last few hours. Kiryll got attacked by Hunters and apparently had been possessed TWICE. What's weirder is that Jade apparently has some form of knowledge concerning the issue. Hopefully, they can get some answers.**

"" "" ""

_The both of them were running through a forest. She looked up and realized that it was Kanata dragging her through the crowded place, being scratched rapidly by the thorns and branches. Around them, there were sounds of flying arrows aimed right at them. One nicked her shoulder and flew past Kanata's ear._

"_Kanata, are you OK?" She screamed._

"_I'm fine." He answered nonchalantly. "Think about yourself for once. They're after __YOU__, you know!"_

_She didn't say anything as they were both running continuously through the bush. She didn't care how long and how far she was forced to run. For some reason, she looked down at the hand that was wrapped in hers and smiled. Kanata vowed to protect her, just as he was protecting her now. If he was at her side, she'll be protected for life._

_Another row of arrows rained over them. Instantly, she felt someone grab her and hug her from behind as the sunlight vanished. When she opened her eyes, she saw an outline of arrows around them and someone coughing up blood. The hands around her loosened their grip, and she turned around and saw Kanata slowly going down to his legs._

"_Kanata…Kanata!" She sobbed._

"_Kyra…I'll distract them. You have to get out of here."_

"_I'm not leaving you…"_

"_You have to, Kyra. You still have a mission to do…to save us all."_

"_But…"_

_There were sounds of ruffling bushes and leaves. After a few seconds, Kyra finally stood and ran, leaving Kanata behind. She cried the whole way, especially when she heard the Hunters coming through the clearing. Instantly, she turned and hid behind one of the trees, watching as they came to surround Kanata. In slow motion, she watched as a blade rose into the air and…_

"" "" ""

"**WAH!"**

Kiryll darted upward and looked around. He was back in his room, which was now heavily populated with his friends, Norma, Jade, and the people who attacked him earlier. They looked like they were in the middle of a conversation, but then again, it looked as if he had startled five years out of Arche's life just by waking up.

"Wait…what…?" He looked around. "What happened?"

"You were attacked by Hunters that were better than what the Vanguard threw at us." Stahn pointed at the girls. "And then you just…what was the word?"

"I lost consciousness…twice…am I correct?" He looked at Yuri.

"And each time, something else took over your body." Yuri answered truthfully. "First, it was the same guy from before, and the second time…it was Guede."

"Guede?" He lunged forward in shock and nearly fell out of the bed. "What was he-?"

"Something about a connection." Sheena turned away. "Something our friend here was just going to explain."

Kiryll turned toward Jade, who merely propped his glasses without so much as flinching. It was then that he recalled that he was able to return him to normal back when it happened in the Human Ranch with only his spear. It was clear that Jade had answers…or at least accurate guesses.

"First things first." Jade turned to Sheena and Chloe. "Weren't we talking about the man who hired you?"

"…like I'm going to tell any of you." Sheen answered, folding her arms.

"Sheena, it's fine. This isn't part of the contract." Chloe countered.

"What are you-?"

"I was the one who made the hit." She stepped forward. "I made it clear that I was the one to take his head, but I knew that I needed a Hunter to achieve that goal."

"What were you planning to do with his Cruxis Crystal?" Yuri asked. "Knowing his power right now, they're must be heavy demand for that."

"I'm not stupid. I knew that his power was something that anyone can abuse." Chloe answered. "It was to be my Exsphere, so that I can use the power to fulfill my duties as a knight."

_So she thought this out._ Kiryll thought as he sat at the edge of his mattress. _Making sure that my power wouldn't be released…_

"That Cruxis Crystal is impossible to convert to a normal Exsphere, you know." Jade explained. "Knowing what capabilities it has, I wouldn't be surprised if it drained the life out of you the minute you tried to fuse with it."

"Have you even considered the Key Crest?" Norma jumped in. "The only reason why his powers are controlled like that is because he has that Key Crest!"

"She could've just used mine. It shouldn't be that hard to separate from the body."

Everyone turned and stared at Kiryll, who was giving her the advice _with a blank look on his face_ as if he didn't care that **HE HAD JUST BEEN ATTACKED**. He stood up and straightened out his jacket before unbuttoning and exposing his Cruxis Crystal to them.

"The Key Crest is basically nothing more than dwarven ore fused into a body. A good Hunter…" He nodded toward Sheena. "Should be more than able to remove both Cruxis Crystal and Key Crest without potential harm to both, am I correct?"

"Whoa, are you actually giving them TIPS?" Stahn's face went pale. "Dude, Kiryll. You should probably get some more sleep or something…"

"Hey, the least I can do is give them a step in the right direction." Kiryll turned toward Chloe with a smile. "Besides, isn't this the only reason why you're on this ship right now?"

"W-what?" Chloe was taken back, like everyone else.

"I have to say that you were smart of staying on the ship first before ordering your hit, and the fact that it was in the middle of the night while the ship was asleep made the plan flawless. You just neglected to consider the others becoming a factor in this." Kiryll placed his hand on her shoulder. "If they weren't here, it would've been perfect."

"Wait…what are you-?"

"I won't ever forget this…but I forgive you."

Just that structure alone made Chloe blush up and run out of the room, making Sheena follow suit. Everyone else stared at Kiryll's smiling face, making them realize that he was dead serious about everything that he had just told her in the last few minutes.

"You're seriously going to wait for her to attack you again?" Arche's eyes were the widest out of all of them.

"Yeah." He answered. "That's what all herons are forced to live through, right?"

"Don't tell me that you still think that you're the one responsible for killing her family?" Yuri stood from the wall. "You want her to extract revenge."

"…" Kiryll stared at the door as his smile faded.

"Kiryll, it was Guede that attacked her family, not you!" Stahn said. "You don't have to force yourself under this pressure!"

"Maybe I have to remind you that I was just Guede a few minutes ago." Kiryll turned toward them. "Not only that, but I have the exact memory of actually attacking them."

"Meaning nothing. Come on, you don't even remember attacking us before." Arche jumped in.

"Actually…I do." He answered. "Yuri, are you…?"

"I'm fine. Let's just say that we have very talented healers on this ship." Yuri rolled his shoulders. "But if you were aware of what was going on…why didn't you stop?"

"I think that this is the time that I come in and explain." Jade walked in between them. "Kiryll, when did you remember what happened while Guede took you?"

"Um…the minute Arche said that I didn't remember." He answered.

"I see…so it is happening sooner than I thought." Jade leaned over Kiryll. "There's a connection between you and Guede, you know."

"A…connection?"

"Yes. From the looks of it, Guede has told you something like this before."

"Something like that…" Kiryll looked down. "He said that I didn't have an identity, and that I can be basically anyone that I could be."

"That is what connects the both of you. The fact that you can take as many forms as you wish means that you have a connection to each and every living being on this planet." Jade backed up.

"Meaning what?" Yuri asked.

"It means that if Kiryll decided that he'll run around looking like you, Yuri…you can take over his mind." Jade grinned. "But only if you have the power to do so."

"That's…odd." Arche blinked. "Does that mean that Kiryll had taken the form of Guede before?"

"It would explain why Guede showed up earlier…" Norma rubbed her chin. "But then who was the other person? The one that you said attacked you twice?"

"…I think…it's Kyra." Kiryll looked up. "It's the only other form that I've taken."

"She did seem to react when I said that name." Yuri added. "But-"

"But I thought that you were Kyra in a past life!" Stahn argued.

"Being reincarnated means using the majority of a person's soul to create life. It doesn't mean that all of it is the same." Kiryll said. "This could be the other part of me that was incarnated."

"This is way too complicated for me…" Arche held her head. "You're saying that your past life is trying to take over you?"

"It…it's the only thing that I can think up right now." Kiryll held his head.

"Don't hurt yourself thinking about it. You've just been attacked." Jade headed to the door. "You need some rest. Think about it in the morning, while your mind is still clear."

With that being said, Jade left the room, leaving everyone else to wonder just what was going to happen next. Kiryll turned toward his friends, wondering if they were going to follow suit. Instead, he was surprised to see that not one of them had moved a muscle out the door.

"I don't think that it could be Kyra." Yuri looked at Kiryll. "First of all, you reacted to that name…not that person."

"I did?" Kiryll rubbed his head. "I can't remember."

"You did. You snapped out of it…after I slashed your stomach open." He said, looking a tad embarrassed.

"Oh…I see." Kiryll tried to remember, but couldn't. Subconsciously, he reached to his stomach. "No scar."

"What? I wouldn't call in a medic just to work on my wounds, right?" Yuri grinned.

"That's true…" Kiryll sighed.

"This is really starting to get insane." Norma held her head. "By the looks of things, Kiryll's basically being hunted by the Vanguard _(to use his power as a weapon)_, the Star Order _(for reasons unknown)_, random Hunters _(because of the bounty on his head)_, not to mention Guede!"

"Four groups with different reasons, but with the same goal." Arche turned to Kiryll. "What are you going to do?"

"For now…I'm just going to go to sleep." He answered. "This is way too much for me to handle in one night."

Everyone nodded, knowing that it was something that they were all thinking about. Yuri herded the people out of the door, giving Kiryll a meaningful glance before heading out the door. He leaned back on his bed, giving himself some time to think, when he realized that Stahn was still inside the room. He looked like he was sleeping standing up. Kiryll slowly lunged forward and began poking him.

"Huh…wha…?" He looked around. "What happened…?"

"Everyone left." Kiryll answered. "You're the last one in the room."

"Oh…wow, look at that." Stahn looked back at Kiryll. "Hey, before I go, are you sure that you're all right?"

"Yeah, for now." He answered with a smile.

"…You know, you don't have to keep all these problems to yourself, you know." Stahn stated. "We're all here for you. So if you have a problem…"

"I'll be fine. Thank you for caring."

Stahn nodded in silence before walking out of the room. Kiryll leaned back onto his bed as he saw the room illuminate in a blue glow. He held his chest as he drew a tarot card from his body. It had the image of a man in silhouette, walking in front of a dog.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** He learned of the pattern of voices by now. **"I, THE MAN WHO STANDS ON THE CROSSROADS, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."**

He stared at the card in his hand, thinking about what he said.

_The man who stands at the crossroads…I have a lot of choices in front of me, don't I?_ He thought, rubbing the card with his thumb. _I can either stay with my friends and find my answers here…or leave them and find the answers myself. If I take that route, they won't be hurt…but will I find my answers? What did Harold tell me earlier…?_

"_**In order for you to completely find the answers that you seek, you must open your hearts to twenty-two people…"**_

_They're the only way for me to find my past. Then again, I was remembering a lot faster while I'm around them._ Kiryll smiled. _They said that they're going to be there for me…all I can do for them right now is trust them._

Kiryll took the card back into his body before finally going into sleep.

"" "" ""

The sunlight was what woke him up. He slowly sat up and realized that the ship had landed right next to a strange city. Looking out the window, he realized that there was a huge tower in the middle of it, reaching over to the boundaries in four long branches. By the position on where the ship landed, he could see people running through the streets as well.

"We're in Daath, capital of the Orders."

He darted his head around to see Fon Master Ion standing at his doorway. Quickly, Kiryll adjusted his outfit so that he would look more presentable, before he realized that he meant both the Order of Lorelei and the Star Order. His face paled and he began to panic.

"Do not worry. I have placed you under the protection of the Order of Lorelei. The Order of Sacred Pentagrams cannot touch you while I hold custody of you." Ion answered.

"Oh…that's good." Kiryll's nerves relaxed. "So…what are we here for? Does somebody have to come here for a mission?"

"Actually…someone here is calling for you." Ion answered. "He had just come recently and had requested that he speaks with you."

"It's…not going to be a Hunter, right?"

"No, of course not. But the claims that he is exerting on the people has me hold my suspicions. As a result, I would suggest bringing someone with you."

"I was planning on doing just that. By the way…who is this person?"

"His name is Zachriel…and he's claiming to be the Descender of Genesis."

"" "" ""

**WHOA! That's a twist most people probably didn't see coming! Zachriel, the Descender? Who is this guy and what does he want with Kiryll? Hopefully, he might be able to spill out some answers…maybe. But **_**god forbid **_** anything comes easy to our hero. At least, that's what most people would think.**


	33. The Descender Zachriel

**With Daath overhead, Kiryll learns of a figure that wishes to speak with him: Zachriel, the man claiming that he is the Descender of Genesis, the World Tree. What does this man want with him?**

**Gomen ne! I accidentally uploaded the previous chapter! This is the real one.**

"" "" ""

"Wow…this is Daath." Stahn looked around. "Looks…emo."

"I'm just expecting to find some form of graveyard or something." Arche looked with him. "Then again, this place has a church, so…"

"Daath is a holy city, holding the Orders of both Lorelei and the Sacred Pentagram." Flynn told the both of them. "To many, coming here is almost like a pilgrimage of sorts."

"Wait…Lorelei is a god of the Pentagram." Kiryll brought up. "Why is his section separate from the rest?"

"According to what I heard, it had something to do with the Fon Master and the Grand Maestro Mohs." Flynn rubbed his chin.

"It had something to do with Ion?" Estelle asked.

"Yes. It all began when Mohs began reaching for too much power. He was declaring that he was the person that the gods had wanted to be king. In fact, he said that he was going to be king of everything that the Star Order has influence in." Leon answered. "In order to do that, he would have to have Fon Master Ion on his side."

"That would make sense. Both the Fon Master and the Grand Maestro are very influential figures to the people." Zelos blinked. "But that still doesn't explain the separate sections."

"I thought you would have the brain cells to figure this out, Zelos." Leon folded his arms. "Both figureheads have different viewpoints when it comes to ruling the people. Ion wanted to do it peacefully, in the way that Lorelei had preached to the world. Mohs wanted to rule the world with power, in the image of Galadriel. The argument there made the Fon Master separate from the Star Order."

"Well, that's a messy argument." Luke stretched his arms. "By the way, why would he want the Fon Master on his side?"

"If I were to guess, it would have to do something with the fact that both of them are religious figures. I mean, both of them are avid followers of the Sacred Pentagram, and it's not like they hold any other differences when it comes to their beliefs." Astrid stated.

"Five hundred Gald says he needs Ion because of the fact that he could use heron magic." Yuri stated. "Mohs is 100% human, let's not forget that. Why would someone run a kingdom without some heron guy running around as his backup weapon?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. Grand Maestro Mohs does have that air around him." Flynn brought up. "But I have to admit, it's this Zachriel person that I'm intrigued about."

"You too?" Stahn looked up from where he was running around. "Yeah, I would get the same impression, if he's suddenly declaring to Kiryll that he's the Descender just to get his attention."

"Speaking of which, where's Ion?" Stahn started looking around again. "Isn't she the reason that you can't be touched in this place?"

"Ion's male." Yuri answered.

"…bullcrap."

"He's a guy. And if you're wondering about him, I just saw him head toward the tower." Yuri pointed at it. "We should head over there before someone tries to find us."

_**-SKIT: This isn't a Party!-**_

"_Hey, um…not to sound weird or anything, but…" Kiryll looked around at everyone. "Why are there so many people coming with me to see this man?"_

"_Hey, the four of us have an excuse, you know." Zelos gestured to his small group. "We have to report to someone in Daath about a mission's outcome!"_

"_OK, you four I can understand. But it's the other…six…that I'm talking about."_

"_Estellise and I are here on our search for the Sylvarant heir." Flynn explained. "Since both Sylvarant and Daath are religious places, it would be a start for our search."_

"_And…the rest of you…?"_

"_We just want a glance at this Descender guy." Stahn grinned. "Besides, if you think about it, while everyone else is busy minding their own business, we're the ones really guarding your back!"_

"_Please, like you can defend yourself! You're just lucky that you can even wield a sword!" Rita stated. "You'd be much safer if we handled Kiryll from here."_

"_Actually, YOU'D be much safer if we handled him! Unlike you guys, the four of us are deeply entangled in the whole __**'Kiryll Nightroad' **__fiasco." Stahn pointed at himself. "Meanwhile, you guys can just wander in and out of it, but we hold a duty to him!"_

"_And as of right now, I don't think that you're even close to being ready to protect him."_

"_What was that?"_

"_Guys, guys! I think that's enough out of the both of you." Zelos chuckled. "How about this? The both of us stick around. Wouldn't that be easier for everyone?"_

_***Silence***_

"_Fine…"_

"_Good for me…"_

"_Saved us all the trouble of a heated argument." Yuri high-fived Zelos._

"_So that covers all of us, but…" Kiryll turned to Luke. "What about you?"_

"_Heh…do any of you guys even know their way around Daath?"_

_***Silence***_

_**-END-**_

The place seemed religious and quiet, populated only by people that seemed to wear nothing but robes. Even the marketplace seemed oddly quiet, something that he didn't seem to expect out of a market. He pushed that to the back of his head as he found himself standing in front of the tower's entrance and the thousands of stairs in front of them.

"My god, that's a lot of stairs." Luke looked up. "Couldn't they make the stairs a little bit shorter?"

"Don't tell me that you're too lazy to climb them." Arche grinned, holding her broom as if bragging.

"I think he means that if they made the stairs a little shorter, they would have more room to add floors to the place." Kiryll looked up.

"Yeah...that's what I meant."

"…_idiot."_ Rita muttered.

They all ascended the stairs slowly. Once Yuri dragged Stahn up the last step, they realized that there were three figures on top of the staircase. Two of them were Anise and Ion. The third one was that of a man. His hair was silver with gold highlights, accenting the pure red eyes that he had. He was in a white and blue priest robe, similar to the one that Ion had on, but what caught Kiryll's attention was that around his neck was a silver choker with a red jewel in the middle of it.

"You must be Kiryll, right?" The man smiled. "I figured that you'd be surrounded by people. You're a popular figure, aren't you?"

"Wait…you're Zachriel, aren't you?"

"Wow, you got me there." The man laughed. "So I guess we're both right about something."

"Yeah…so…is it true? That you're…?"

"A Descender? Yeah, I know. I could hardly believe it first time I heard about it." Zachriel laughed. "You know who told me my title? The Star Order."

"The Star-" Kiryll found himself frozen.

"One of the God Generals found me at the base of Genesis…I think it was Van or something…" Zachriel said. "After a few seconds of complete silence, he told me that I was the Descender of the world."

"And you just believed him…out of the blue." Stahn looked confused.

"Well, of course. Master Van is a trustworthy man." Luke said. "Everything that he says is the truth."

"_I'm interrogating you on that later…"_ Arche muttered to herself.

"Zachriel…I don't think you're the type of person that would trust someone's word at the first glance…" Kiryll looked at him. "Am I right?"

"You know your stuff." He nodded. "I couldn't trust his word, because he didn't seem like a trustworthy person. Then he told me that all Descenders have the ability of the Wild Card-"

"_**Wild Card?"**_ Estelle held her mouth as if she wanted to hide her shock. "But-"

"That's why I called Kiryll into the city. I wanted to confirm the rumors of a heron being a Wild Card as well." Zachriel walked to Kiryll. "I know that you didn't want to come here because of the Hunter hit on your head, but there was no other place where I could research the Descenders of the past before I would leave on my first mission."

"Research?" Kiryll blinked.

"Yes. I figured that Descenders would have a pattern that would cause Van to believe that I was one of them." Zachriel rubbed his forehead. "I haven't found it yet, but I think the ability as a Wild Card counts as one of them."

"Oh, of course! Daath has one of the vastest libraries in the entire world!" Estelle's eyes lightened up. "I'm sure that we'll find what we're looking for!"

"Hopefully…if we can find one in a language that we can read." Leon sighed.

"Aw, come on! If we have a place to look, we might as well take a glance!" Stahn turned to Zachriel. "All right then, Fon Master! Can you take us to this MAGICAL library?"

"Of course, Stahn." Ion bowed.

"Why do I sense sarcasm in your voice?" Yuri chuckled.

"" "" ""

The library inside the tower looked somewhat similar to the Velvet Room that Kiryll had walked into a while back. When they went through the door, the shelves towered over their heads in books _(or as Luke would place it, "encyclopedias" of books)_. The minute they walked in, Estelle ran straight for the biggest book.

"Lady Estellise?" Flynn went to follow.

"Don't worry about her. She just loves the books." Yuri answered, laughing. "Well, anyway, what book are we even looking for?"

"Anything dealing with Descenders, I guess." Anise answered. "So we should start now."

"Man, are you kidding me?" Zelos looked around. "There is no way that we're going to be able to read through _all these books!__"_

"Besides, what if we realize that none of these books have our answer?" Luke grumbled. "We would've wasted our time on nothing!"

"Hey, Rita. Quick question: can I go?" Zelos leaned over to her. "Is it OK if I don't look? We have someone to meet up for our mission, and it would be cruel if we were to make him wait for us."

"Then you might as well start now so we can meet up with him sooner."

Kiryll watched as Rita dragged Zelos and Luke into the deeper regions of the library before he began his search. Each novel was bigger than the next, filled with nothing more than vague phrases and drawn pictures of herons and humans going through forests in harmony. By the looks of the other people, they weren't having any luck either.

"Hey, I think I got something!" Arche jumped to her feet.

"Could it be the book that we're looking for?" Anise leaned over Arche's shoulder.

"What does it say?" Zachriel stood up.

"It mentions something about the Wild Card of Descenders." She looked at the text. "But god damn it, it's completely in Ispanian!"

"Then how in the world did you know that it mentions Wild Card?" Stahn asked.

"It's the only word I can catch. It just mentions Wild Card out of nowhere, so I figured that it'll be the same."

"I happen to read Ispanian." Ion stepped forward. "Can I read it?"

"Sure. Take a shot at it." Arche handed him the book. _Since when does the Fon Master read Ispanian?_

"Let's see…" Ion looked at the text. _**"It is said that the Descender is a creation of the angels, sent onto the human plane when great danger falls upon them. Blessed with the ultimate powers of the Pentagram, he holds the power to summon the many forms that human souls can take."**_

"Wouldn't that be the Wild Card ability?" Kiryll asked.

"Yes. All human souls take on the form of a Persona. The book states that the Descender has the ability to initiate and use every single form of Persona that had been created in the world." Ion looked back in the book.

"If that's true, then we'll have to conclude that every single Descender is a heron." Rita stated. "Only herons can handle the biological stress that is inflicted when Persona is summoned."

"But isn't it true that even between herons, the ability is rare?" Zelos said in his carefree attitude.

"Yeah, I think that's true." Estelle answered. "Because all herons are taught to live as humans. Being able to summon Persona takes years of dedication in the open."

"Which usually means Hunters coming after you from all angles." Luke answered, cringing.

"Oh wait…there's more." Ion placed the book on a table. _**"What makes the Descender unique from the few other Wild Cards is that the Descender has the ability to access the Persona of both Emotion and Reason, the factors needed in creating human souls. When both emotion and reason combine their powers, it is said that they create the path in people's hearts for change."**_

"The Persona of Emotion and Reason…" Yuri held his head. "Zac, you have any idea about these two?"

"Zac? Are you talking about me?" Zachriel pointed at himself.

"Yeah. Zachriel seems way too much on the tongue."

"Um…well…no, I don't have any knowledge on them." He answered. "Then again, I don't remember much past my own name."

"It'll come with time. Like memories." Kiryll smiled. "Keep going, Ion. Maybe he'll remember them after you read their bios."

"That might be true." Ion looked in the book. _**"The Persona of Reason is responsible for giving human souls the ability to relate facts and information to make sound judgments when it came to human conflicts. Unlike human judgment, he does not let emotion cloud any decision that he makes. As a result, he is known to be the first sound leader of the world. The first Descender granted the Persona the name Aeternitas, after the god of eternity."**_

"Sounds like a name fit for the embodiment of reason." Stahn grinned. "Aeter…nitas. Very dramatic sounding."

"That's what you're thinking about." Rita sighed. "My goodness. Maybe you should have Aeternitas take a look in your head."

"Now, now! Don't argue in front of Ion!" Anise argued.

"Yeah…and besides, Aeternitas isn't the Persona of Knowledge." Astrid corrected.

"Anything?" Kiryll turned to Zachriel.

"No…nothing yet." He answered.

"What about the other Persona?" Flynn asked. "The one for Emotion."

"Um…_**The Persona of Emotion creates the core of each human soul. He is connected to each and every being on the planet, and as a result he is directly affected by the emotions that they all have. It is stated that he is the god of both light and darkness. The first Descender granted the Persona the name Guede, after-"**_

"Wait _wait __WAIT__!"_ Stahn dropped his hands on the table. "GUEDE?"

"Guede is the name of a Persona?" Arche's eyes widened. "Like, the Persona of Emotions?"

"Um…yes. Why, is that a problem?"

"YES, THAT IS A PROBLEM!" Arche screamed. "Unless all of you were living under rocks for the past week and a half, Guede is the name of the guy _who's after __KIRYLL!__"_

Around the time that it was sinking into everyone's brains, Kiryll stood there with a look of shock on his face. Subconsciously, he began to squeeze his collar, the only thing that was covering his Cruxis Crystal from the world. Or rather…Guede's crystal.

_I don't understand it…why in the world would the Persona of Emotion be after me?_ He panicked.

"Is there a way to keep him at bay?" Yuri asked. "In case he goes haywire from emotional overload?"

"Um…well, this book doesn't seem to mention anything about something like that…" Ion skimmed the pages. "But I remember that there's a family that watches over the World Tree. They might have the answer there."

"They better. Knowing how emotionally overloaded the world always seems to be, they have to have something that keeps Guede back." Rita looked around.

"What's the family name?" Astrid asked. "Does anyone know?"

"I'm sorry, but as of now, the name has slipped my mind." Ion shook his head.

"Don't stress yourself, Ion." Anise answered.

"What are we going to do? That family is going to be in terrible danger if we don't find them soon!" Estelle panicked.

"Calm down. We'll find out who this family is." Zachriel said. "If there is mercy up in Genesis, they will give us guidance."

"Wilder. The surname is Wilder."

Everyone turned their heads toward Zelos, who still had the blank look on his face while looking at a window painting a few feet over his head. Once he was aware that everyone was looking at him, he lowered his arms and threw up his trademark grin.

"Now, I don't know anything about this whole 'protecting the World Tree' thing, but I think I'll be able to get you guys close enough to ask." He nodded. "Just let my group finish our mission, and then we'll be on our way."

"" "" ""

**Here's a little bit of trivia: Zelos's family being protectors of the World Tree is actually taken straight from the game TotW: RM2. So…wow, so much information to take in. Hopefully, no one had a brain attack as of right now.**


	34. Social Links :HERMIT: :STRENGTH: :STAR:

**With the knowledge that Guede is a powerful Persona and Zachriel is in no position to actually try controlling him, the only hope that Kiryll has left is to try keeping Guede at bay. Fortunately, Zelos is the heir to a great family that had protected the World Tree for generations. Perhaps he can find a way to save Kiryll's head.**

**He only has a small amount of time to relax and think everything out. What can he find out at this time?**

"" "" ""

After Astrid and her group were able to finish their work, Zelos directed everyone to Meltokio. Fon Master Ion, Anise and Zachriel had to stay behind in Daath for the arrival of the God Generals, so they didn't come along. Since the trip was going to take a few hours, Kiryll lounged in the lobby to pass his time.

"Are you having fun there, Nightroad?"

He jumped up from his seat and noticed that Jade was standing just a few feet away from him, smiling and laughing from the shock on his face. Annoyed _(mainly because he wasn't in the mood)_, he silently plopped back into his chair without making eye contact with him. For some reason, Jade took that as a sign to join him. Kiryll unwilling allowed him to do so.

"Since when did you start calling me Nightroad?" He asked, trying to hide his annoyance.

"Well, when I heard that you held the ability to transform between the genders and that you gave a name to each of them, I thought it would be inconveniencing myself if I called you Kiryll or Kyra." He answered, chuckling as if it was entertaining. "You must admit that it's reasonable."

"…" _It actually is…_ "So…what are you doing here? I figured that you would be doing a mission around this time."

"What can I say? After a good work or two, I decided that I might as well take a break and relax." He said down across from him. "Might I ask why you have a panicked look on your face?"

"…well, you know that man Guede? The one that was chasing me because of my Cruxis Crystal?"

"Ah, him. Let me guess: you realized that he was the Persona of the Descender." Jade answered with a 'ha-ha-I-knew-that-before-you' voice.

"Wha-? You knew that?" Kiryll slammed his hands on the table. "Then why the hell didn't you tell me this before?"

"What can I say?" He answered, shrugging as if Kiryll didn't startle him. "Your companions have a strange way of gossiping out loud."

"Huh? Oh…" He sank back into his chair. "You heard about it from the others."

"It was hard not to. They were talking so loud; I wouldn't be surprised if the whole world heard them." Jade leaned over the table. "Arche especially; she's always so emotional about incidents that consider her friends."

"Arche…oh yeah. Isn't she you're adopted daughter?" Kiryll tilted his head. "It's strange…I never thought of you as a father figure."

"To tell you the truth, I haven't thought of it either. She was just someone that I found while I wandered the world and happened to care for." Jade answered, a strange coldness in his voice. "Then again, it's nice to be around someone who has almost as much magical talent as I do."

"Well, what do you expect? She's a-" He paused. Did Jade know her secret? He couldn't remember.

"A half-elf? It still wouldn't explain where she got her terrible cooking skills." Jade answered with a chuckle. "I thought all elves had cooking abilities."

"Elves are the same as humans, Jade. Some of them suck at cooking, others are masters." Kiryll grinned. "Arche…just happens to fall under the former category. But she's probably not a lost cause."

"No, I think she's a lost cause. A horrible cook will always be a horrible cook." Jade stood up. "So what are you going to do about this Guede character?"

"We're heading back to Meltokio to meet up with Zelos's family. He says that they're going to help me find a way to keep him at bay, until we can figure out what to handle him."

"I see. Well then, seeing as that Guede is being such a destructive character as of right now, I'll support you in any way I can." He grinned. "But for now, I have to get going. Our new technician is back from her mission and Raine wants me to escort her around the ship."

"Really? Who's the girl?"

"According to her, the name is…Pascal, or something up to that matter." Jade chuckled. "Wish me luck."

Kiryll watched as Jade walked through the empty hallway toward the engine room. He tilted his head, thinking that he obviously had something going on. Suddenly, he felt a card smack his hand out of the way. He instantly grabbed it, and he noticed that it held the image of a lamp _(or is it an eye?)_ hanging underneath what looked like to be a closed cage.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** It was Jade's voice. **"I, THE HERMIT THAT WANDERS ALONE, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND...AND WHEN THE TIME COMES-"**

The card zoomed back into his body before the voice could say anything else. Kiryll was startled, (1) because he was apparently a person that he needed in order for him to solve the mystery of his past, and (2) he had a problem that apparently only he was able to solve. Oh yeah, (3): if what he remembered about the quote was right, it would mean that Jade trusted him on a level that was deeper than even his closer friends!

_Jade, with a problem? What could that be?_ He looked at the direction where he had walked away. _And to think that he trusts me at all…_

He stood up. He obviously needed to think. After a few minutes, he decided that he was going to go walk around the area. He trotted through the hallway before he bumped into Luke. In the split second that he had, Kiryll noticed that his face was blank, as if he had been in a daze.

"Oh, Kiryll. Hey." He grinned. "How're you holding up, with all the issues going on?"

"I'll be fine. I just need a few minutes to think this all out." Kiryll nodded. "What are you doing?"

"Just minding my own business. Guy's out on a mission, so I really don't have anyone to hang out with." Luke laughed.

"Ah, Guy." Kiryll felt instantly awkward. "Hey, uh, Luke. Not to put yourself in a weird position, but…what do you think about Flynn?"

"Who? Oh, that guy from Zaphias, that soldier right?" Luke rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I think he's a little interesting. Sometimes, I see Guy in his eyes. It's so weird to think that they were actually the same person."

"They're not actually the same person, no matter what anyone states." Kiryll stated. "Guy and Flynn are two different individuals. I think both of them would like it if you considered them that way."

"I do, Kiryll. I really do. It's just that sometimes, I accidentally get them mixed up." He chuckled. "You know what I mean? Sometimes they look so similar that you can't help but mix the two."

"Yeah, that's true. You know, if you really have a problem differentiating between the both of them, joke about it." Kiryll smiled. "Don't they look like twins, if you ignore the fact that they're not?"

"Oh yeah, true. Hah, I wonder what Guy's going to think about that." Luke started to walk away. "I should try that next time! Thanks, Kiryll."

"No problem." Kiryll smiled. "Hey, are you coming with us to meet the Wilders?"

"Of course. My family happens to be friends with them. And we do have you to worry about." He grinned. "We'll be in Meltokio soon. At least, that's what Zelos says."

"I'll be ready. Don't worry."

Suddenly, a card flew out of Kiryll's body, startling both of them. This was the first time that Kiryll had a rapid succession of Social Links. The card held the image of a young woman gaining control over what looked like to be a lion, surrounded by an orange aura.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** This was Luke's voice, but it sounded oddly familiar. **"I, THE STRENGTH OF A THOUSAND MEN, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."**

The card smacked into Kiryll's stomach _(which was a lot different from just being absorbed)_, causing him to reel over a bit in pain. Luke panicked a bit before finally getting enough of his nerve back to help the heron back up on his own two legs.

"What was that?" He asked.

"It's a long story…" Kiryll chuckled. "And it's pretty boring, at that."

Luke chuckled, obviously hinting to him that they had all the time in the world to talk about it. Kiryll rubbed the back of his head, wondering where he was going to start. Instantly, he turned toward one of the rooms and gestured that they talk in there.

"" "" ""

_**She found herself sitting at a windowsill, looking outside to a beautiful view of a large city underneath where she sat. Instead of her outfit, she was wearing a beautiful white robe that was adorned with both gold and sapphires. At her side was a naginata, tied up to the wall in a beautiful design.**_

_[This place…] __**She thought. **__[It looks like Daath…only smaller?]_

_**Her ears suddenly perked, as if someone was calling her. She turned her head slowly (it was only then that she realized that there was a really heavy hat on her head) and saw a priestess with two buns in her hair. Astrid couldn't help but realize how beautiful she looked.**_

"_Lady … , there you are." __**The woman said.**_

_[Huh? I can't hear my own name.] __**Astrid wanted to rub her head in confusion, but her arms wouldn't move.**_

"_Is there something that you wish to tell me?" __**She found herself asking.**_

"_It's about your guest, the Priest of Lorelei." __**The woman stated. **__"He and his companions have returned from their trip."_

_**Instantly, her ears perked yet again. Her pulse quickened at the mention of this Priest. She slowly rose from her chair as she completely turned toward the woman. Astrid felt small and inadequate from her motherly figure, but made no move to turn away.**_

"_Tell him to meet me in the throne room." __**She calmly answered.**_

"_As you wish, milady."_

_**The woman slowly bowed before closing the door after her. Instantly, Astrid felt her body hang the sword on the seat that she was sitting on before running toward the nearby cabinet. The different colored robes that hung on each coat rack made Astrid gasp on just how rich she was.**_

"_You know that you don't have to change every time he comes in from his travels." __**A voice called out.**_

"_You don't understand, partner." __**She said to the voice, pulling out a green robe. **__"This is the Priest of Lorelei, a blessed young man who deserves all the respect that he is given. He's already led our country to prosperity."_

"_Your country, princess. The Priest of Lorelei was only successful because you allowed him to enter these lands." __**The voice corrected.**_

"_But the reason why I let him wander was because what you told me." __**Astrid threw on the robe. **__"This country is prosperous only because of your guidance."_

"_Princess…"_

"_Please, call me … . Princess just seems…too formal for me."_

"…_it is."_

_**Astrid began to wonder why she can't hear her name. She turned around and walked toward the naginata, stroking the gem that was embedded in it. Before her eyes, she saw it begin to glow and pulse as if it was alive and breathing.**_

"_Well, then…shall we go meet up with him?"_

"_Of course…"_

"" "" ""

"…so that's what the card meant."

"Yeah…I don't understand it either. It just started recently."

Her eyes flickered open. She tilted her head to see Luke and Kiryll talking to each other while sitting down at her desk. It was empty, so she concluded that they were so preoccupied with their conversation that they didn't even notice that she was in the room. She sat up, catching their attention.

"Oh, Astrid!" Luke stood up. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you-"

"No, it's OK. I was up anyway." She lied as she stood up. "Um…should I leave?"

"It's YOUR room…I think we should be leaving right now." Luke grinned. "I'll go check up on Zelos and see if we're there yet."

"OK."

Astrid watched as Luke slowly walked out of her room, and realized that she was staring at him for the last few seconds. She immediately started blushing and quickly turned away while holding her cheeks. Fortunately, she was finally alone in her room.

"Are you OK?"

She almost screamed bloody murder. Darting her head around, she realized that Kiryll was still inside her room with an oblivious look on his face. He obviously didn't get the hint to leave when Luke left.

"I-I thought you were out!" She panicked.

"I was, but it looked like you had a problem." He stood up. "I just wanted to make sure you're OK."

"I-I-I'm fine, really!" She stammered, still in shock.

"Oh…OK. You just looked like you had a fever, that's all." He tilted his head. "Or is that from Luke?"

"Wh-what? No, no! It-It wasn't from him!" Astrid dug for an excuse. "It was just…from what I was…dreaming, that's all."

"Bad dream? Or just a confusing one?" Kiryll asked.

"Just a weird one, that's all." Astrid wondered just how oblivious he could get. "I mean, I was a princess and wielded a naginata that could talk!"

"What, like a Swordian?"

"I guess…but I didn't see a Lens on it." She answered. "It's just a dream, so we shouldn't focus too much on it."

"Yeah…" He answered. "We should get ready for Meltokio."

"Uh huh…"

Kiryll stood and walked out of the room, leaving Astrid to vent out all her shock. When he left the room, a card flew out of his hand. It held the image of a yellow star, radiating liens of pink and blue and holding a human face on it. Innocent eyes looked at him through the blue aura.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** The deep voice sounded nothing close to Astrid. **"I, THE STAR IN THE NIGHT SKY, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."**

The card sank back into his body as he felt the plane slowly descend from its flight. When he looked up, he saw Zelos walking toward him with a grin on his face.

"Pack up, Kir. We're here."

"" "" ""

**Haha…filler. This is basically just for Social Link's sake.**


	35. The Wilder Family :FORTUNE:

**Kiryll Nightroad and his friends are finally in Meltokio, ready to meet up with the Wilders and learn more about Guede, the Persona of Emotion. What is there to learn that Kiryll doesn't know about? Is there anything?**

"" "" ""

Parking the ship was hard when there were other aircraft that was trying to land. But once Ad Libitum actually stopped moving, Kiryll and Arche were the first two off. Zelos jumped out for a clear third while everyone just stood there watching them run off the first few feet.

"Leon, do you know anything about the Wilder family?" Astrid looked up to him. "Besides them being one of the most prestigious families of the continent?"

"They're the human family chosen to watch over the World Tree." He answered. "Legend states that they were the ones that took in Lorelei and made him as if he was their blood brother. As a result, they're considered sacred."

"That's weird. Everyone in the Wilders is human, right? Like what you said?" Stahn turned to Leon. "But Zelos is a heron."

"What can I say? They only call them a human family because they never held a heron in their bloodline." Leon stepped down from the ship. "Let's just say that Zelos is the first one in a long time, and that…there's been some falling out of the Wilder's part."

"Falling…out?"

Everyone looked at each other as they all followed Zelos through the winding streets of Meltokio to a huge mansion. The outside was oddly golden _(despite the other mansions being a strange holy white tone)_, with the bluest door they ever saw in their lives. Zelos headed toward the door.

"Let me handle all the talking, 'kay?"

"Um…sure." Kiryll blinked.

Zelos knocked on the door as a butler came out. He gestured the others away as they began to talk amongst themselves. After a few minutes, the butlers quickly ran back into the house. He turned toward the others and gestured them in.

"Go in with caution, I guess?" Kiryll tilted his head.

"All right. Humans and half-elves first." Yuri gestured.

Arche and Astrid nodded before dragging Rita in. Flynn gave both Estelle and Luke a reassuring nod before following the girls. The others slowly poured in one at a time. Kiryll looked around and admired just how noble the entire living room felt. The tiles were the same as in the throne room of the Tethe'allan kingdom, not to mention the dangling chandelier from above them.

"Wow!" Arche looked around. "Guests here, much?"

"Eh, from time to time." He answered. "Not as much anymore, but-"

"Lord Zelos, please wait for a moment." One butler nodded. "Your father is meeting with the king as of now."

"Let him do as he pleases. We're not in a rush." Zelos gestured. "Just make sure that my guests here are attended to."

"Understood."

"_Don't I feel like an object now…"_ Rita grumbled.

As they settled down on the couches in the room, the butlers hurried out to the kitchen _(to serve refreshments, as Arche pointed out. "They always do that", she stated)_. After three seconds, Stahn and Zelos were in a heated match of chess. How it got started was anyone's guess.

"Who's winning so far?" Kiryll leaned in.

"They're actually going strong. I'm surprised that Stahn didn't flunk on his moves." Rita answered.

"Shhh! Don't distract me!" He took up one piece. "All right then…knight to a6."

"I see…not a bad move, Stahn. However…" Zelos grinned. "Bishop to f5. I believe that's checkmate."

"**WHAT?"** Stahn jumped in the air. "Aw, come on!"

"Oh damn…surrounded by a queen, a bishop _and_ a rook." Yuri chuckled. "You've never played chess before, haven't you?"

"Don't judge me!"

"Can't help but." Leon sighed.

"What can I say? A man of religious beliefs like myself always hold the key to the kingdom." Zelos grinned.

_I have a strange feeling that he's doing this to make a political statement…_ Kiryll rubbed the back of his head.

"All right then…" He looked around. "Who's next?"

"I'll play you." Estelle sat at the board. "I've only played the maids back in Zaphias, so this will be a nice change for me."

"All right then. But don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're a woman."

"I expect nothing less."

"_Oh boy…he's in for it now."_ Flynn grinned.

"I play the winner!" Luke called.

"Screw that! I play the winner!" Rita argued. "A noble with intelligence such as yours shouldn't be playing with the big boys!"

"What was that?"

As everyone started debating over that, Astrid began to wander around the room, staying close to their game. The windows were large, letting in a lot of sunlight onto the small dining table and what looked like to be a grand piano _(possibly for entertainment?)_. She wandered to the fireplace, marveling at just how beautiful the wood frame was. All the gald that she could muster from any of her jobs wouldn't buy her that. She was barely aware that Kiryll stood next to her.

"This is really beautiful." He remarked.

"I know. I know that Zelos is rich and all, but I never knew that he would live in such a beautiful area." Astrid answered.

"Yeah, I know…" Kiryll blinked. "Hm?"

Astrid stared at the mirror and candles that hung over the fireplace. The mirror was angled so that she could see the group that was leaning over the game between Estelle and Zelos, who were now staring so intently at the board. Kiryll, on the other hand, noticed a small box that was sitting under the mirror. Looking around, he reached for the lid.

"_K-Kiryll! I don't think that you should be looking in there…"_ She panicked.

"_I'm not going to take anything in here, Astrid. Besides, this looks like it only holds hand bells."_ He answered. _"You know…those silver orbs that make sounds when you roll them in your hand?"_

"_Um…"_

Kiryll gave her a reassuring smile as his curiosity allowed him to open the box. However, it didn't hold hand bells as he expected. Instead they held five Cruxis Crystals, delicately arranged in a row and covered by nothing more than blue velvet. He quickly closed the lid.

"W-what is it?" Astrid asked, panicking.

"I-it was hand bells, just like I thought." He chuckled. "The design on them was pretty intimidating, but it's nothing to think too hard about."

Astrid stared at him as if she doubted his remark when they heard screams of delight and misery coming from behind them. It turned out that Zelos lost to Estelle…in five minutes. Astrid walked over to the group to get the details as Kiryll held his sweaty forehead.

_The Wilder family is a group of Hunters…_ He closed his eyes. _Dammit…_

He lowered his hand toward his Cruxis Crystal, hidden only by a white collared shirt as he slid a button over it. Nonchalantly, he walked over to the group as Rita and Luke began a heated chess game. According to Arche, it was a game of speed chess _(whatever that was)._

"Ah. So they weren't lying."

Everyone looked up from the game to see a man walking into the building. He looked…noble, for someone of the Wilder family. He had red hair similar to Zelos's, and a clean shaven face that took five years out of his age. However, he had the air of…arrogance? Or was it something else?

"Zelos Wilder…so you have returned home."

"Hello…father." He said with hidden bitterment.

"And look at all of your guests! I wonder what this occasion calls for!" He turned to the butlers. "Prepare the lunch for our newcomers!"

"Right away!"

Kiryll watched as the butlers scrambled toward the kitchen. When he approached them, he found himself unconsciously angling himself away from him. Yuri caught on, because he was angling himself in front of him and Estelle as nonchalantly as he could.

"Is there something that you need my help with?" He asked.

"Actually…we need your help with a domestic issue." Flynn stood up. "The Wilder family is the only people we can turn to."

"Hm…this sounds pretty deep." He sat down. "What can we do?"

"Dad…he's talking about the Taijo Ritual."

Suddenly, the air in the room became very tense and humid. Kiryll had to look around the room to make sure that no one was secretly trying to cook them alive. After a few minutes of complete silence, his father quickly recovered from his shock and held an interested smile on his face.

"The Taijo Ritual? That's a complicated procedure for people such as you to learn about." He said. "Why would you want to know about that?"

"We need it. Badly." Yuri bluntly stated.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Because we're dealing with the Persona of Emotion." Yuri leaned forward. "Does the name Guede mean anything to you?"

"Guede?" He jumped to his feet. "What about him?"

"You see, there's a guy out there running around with that name. He's after our friend here." Luke said, gesturing to Kiryll. "And we don't know why. On the off chance that he is in fact the Guede of legend, we want to make sure that we can get him under wraps."

The room sank back into silence. This time, it was more unnerving than tense. Silently, Zelos' father turned and took a closer look at Kiryll. He felt sweat drive down his back as he wished that he wouldn't notice his Cruxis Crystal. Instead, he merely stood and headed toward the fireplace.

"You're asking a lot, you know." He said. For some reason, his voice didn't seem scared. Almost…interested.

"We're not, really!" Estelle said. "We're just asking for you to help us!"

"Well, sad to say this to you guys, but the Taijo Ritual's been long lost in our history." He held the lid of the box. "My great-grandfather mentioned it to my grandfather but forgot to tell him how to initiate it. As a result…no one knows how to do it anymore."

"Are you serious? You said that you wouldn't tell me because I wasn't of age yet!" Zelos stood up. "You've been lying to me this entire time?"

"I'm sorry, Zelos. I was going to tell you when you were of age, but…" His father turned around, the box in his hands. "I learned something else that might be just as helpful, though."

"Anything will work." Flynn stated. "Can you tell us this technique?"

"Of course. Anything for the Knights."

Kiryll cringed as the man opened the box, revealing the five Cruxis Crystals inside. Instantly, he felt the air tense up yet again. What had it worse was Zelos. Kiryll watched as the anger on his face melted into that of sadness, as if he had known this all along. The man was his father, so…

"Are those…Cruxis Crystals?" Arche finally mustered up.

"The ones from my strongest characters. The one in the middle is my pride and joy." He pointed at it. "The heron I fought was a hard one at that: knew a lot of spells and was really fast. Almost took out my arm."

Kiryll looked around at the others and noticed that Stahn was getting extremely anxious. After a few seconds, he noticed that his arm was starting to twitch toward the Swordian at his side. Before he would go to stop it, he saw Leon grab the arm instead. It seemed to calm Stahn down, because the twitching stopped.

"So you're a Hunter now…" Leon said.

"The whole family is. Started way before my grandfather was born." He sounded _happy_ about it. "Zelos here's going to be the heir to this Dynasty. He's gonna be the best Hunter the world's ever seen!"

_Oh, the irony of that statement…_ Arche thought. "OK…about that statement before saying that you're going to be helping us…?"

"Yes, of course. Well, if you guys must know, we at the Wilder household have done some research concerning the Persona. And we came to a valiant conclusion…" The father closed the box. "When they come onto this world, they appear in the form of herons. In fact, they might as well be the first herons ever marked on the planet."

"So you're saying that using Hunter techniques is going to keep this Guede at bay?" Rita scoffed. "That sounds way too cocky, if you think about it."

"It may be a powerful being, but in the end it's still a heron." Zelos' father grinned. "A Hunter like me should always be-"

"He didn't have a Crystal."

"What?"

"Like I said…he didn't have a Cruxis Crystal." Kiryll stood up. "When I ran into him, he only had an empty Key Crest."

"Just a Key Crest…and he didn't show any symptoms of C.A.C.I?"

_CACI? Does he mean Chronic Angelus Crystallus Inofficium?_ Kiryll blinked. "Um…no. In fact, he seemed perfectly operable. He almost killed me…"

"I see." His father grinned. "Don't worry. I have more than one method to handle a man such as him."

From the corner of his eye, Kiryll noticed Zelos cringing in pain and holding his hidden Cruxis Crystal as if he didn't quite digest something well. Quickly, he turned away so that his father wouldn't notice his bizarre behavior and hopefully won't realize that Zelos is the very thing he hunts.

"Perhaps now isn't the time yet." His father stood. "I believe that our lunch is done. Will all of you have the pleasure of joining us?"

"I'm actually quite hungry!" Stahn stood, oblivious to figure out what's going on. "I'm going!"

"Well, we can't turn it down." Estelle stood up. "Can you show us to the dining room?"

"Of course, my dear." His father grinned. "It's this way."

Everyone stood and cautiously followed him toward the dining room. When Kiryll stood to follow them, he realized that Zelos was still sitting down holding his Cruxis Crystal. Looking back to the crowd, he caught eye contact with Leon, who nodded before joining the group. It was only then that Zelos realized that Kiryll was still there.

"I'll be fine. You can go on ahead." He said.

"You don't…look fine. You look like you might get sick all over the furniture." Kiryll answered. "I'm guessing that you don't have tight relations to your father, huh?"

"Sheesh…is it that obvious?"

"Probably not to your father, but I'm sure that everyone else thinks the same way." He sat on the table. "I mean, you've been cringing the entire time he was talking. Was it because of his bragging about his Hunting skills?"

"That's not the half of it. It's…something else." Zelos lowered his hand. "While he was bragging, he was excited about it…like he's planning to brag about it during lunch time and perhaps for all eternity, on the hope that someone might want to listen."

"All people want to brag about their greatest achievements, Zelos…but then again, I guess it's not that good to hear about how to kill a person." Kiryll sighed.

"That's not what I meant, man." He grinned at his obliviousness. "I meant that I could…_feel_ what he was feeling, the same way I can feel your sympathy and confusion about this whole incident."

"What the-?" Kiryll's eyes widened. "How did-?"

"Hey, didn't someone tell you this? All Herons have their own ability embedded in their Cruxis Crystal, you know." Zelos tapped his. "The same way your ability is **Wild Card**, mine's called **Emotion.** It allows me to catch on certain emotions that happen to stray into the room."

"Making you adjust accordingly." He grinned. "That way, you never say anything at a bad moment."

"Basically. And by the looks of it, you're actually interested." He stood. "Not only that, but my father's wondering just where in the world we are."

"You can read minds, too?"

"Naw. That's Leon's ability. I just happen to know my father's emotions well." Zelos walked toward the staircase. "We should hurry up and join the others. Here, I'll show you the way."

"All right."

Zelos grinned as he snapped himself back into his usual self and headed up the area toward the dining room. Kiryll stood up to join him when he heard something snap in his mind. A card shot out of his body, depicting the image of a sword _(or is it a dagger?)_ in front of a black wheel.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** Kiryll was surprised that Zelos' voice could actually be that deep. **"I, THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."**

Kiryll quickly grabbed the card as footsteps echoed back toward his current location. Looking up, he realized it was Zelos, with a strange look on his face.

"What's up with you?" He tilted his head. "Come on."

"Right, right…"

"" "" ""

**That's the most ironic thing to date: Zelos comes from a family of Hunters, yet he's a heron! Oh, don't mind me. I just love irony XD**


	36. Caught in the Middle :MAGICIAN:

**So Kiryll has found himself dealing with the Wilders, a family that's crucial to saving his life. Yet now he realizes that they consist of the same type of people out to hunt his kind. How in the world is he going to get help from them?**

"" "" ""

The place that he was brought to was a big area. In fact, it looked more like a gigantic ballroom than a dining hall. With the dangling chandeliers, the marble flooring and the pillars marking the arch windows, he was surprised that no one tried looking inside the building yet. As Kiryll and Zelos entered the room, everyone was sitting down and already in a deep discussion with Zelos' father _(which was, as Kiryll noticed, nothing more than a sense of bragging about his latest hunts)_.

"Ah, there's my son!" He looked up. "We were wondering when you were going to show up!"

"Let's just say my companion here had a fascination for this place." Zelos stated, pointing at Kiryll. "I had to pry him here."

"Oh, don't do that! Let him wander! He would've found this place when he got hungry." The father turned toward him. "I've heard a bit about you from your friends here. Kiryll Nightroad, am I correct?"

"Um…yes, that's me." He blinked.

"Nothing but praise from your companions. You've saved a few nobles, gotten your name well known…you're really something." He grinned. "You must be a powerful individual, and yet you still want my help."

"Yes. He's actually much more powerful than I am." Kiryll stated. "Than most of us…"

"And this man has nothing more than a Key Crest and no sign of CACI." Zelos' father grinned. "Either he's a powerful human or has a way to bypass CACI. So what I can propose to you is how to hasten the disease."

"There's a way to do that?" Flynn blinked.

"Yep. The only problem is that we Wilders are the only ones able to use it." He answered. "But if you're willing to, I'll teach it to my son here. That way he'll be of use to you."

"This method could be used on all herons, right?" Leon blurted out.

"Yes, of course. I've used it all the time."

That didn't seem to go well with the others. Kiryll turned toward his companions _(especially those of heron blood)_ and realized that most of them went completely pale. He wasn't surprised to see that Zelos had been one of them as well. He looked down as he began to think through just what happened.

"_You'll only use it once, Zelos. It may be worth a shot."_ Kiryll whispered. _"But…"_

"…"

"…_I won't force you to take the offer."_ He continued. _"We'll find another way to stop Guede."_

"_No. This is the only way to save you."_ He stepped forward. "How long do we need?"

"Just the whole day. Nothing big." He answered. "But enough about that. We should eat now. We'll begin the process once we're done."

"" "" ""

When he meant the whole day, he meant _the whole day_. In other words, everyone was going to have to spend the night at the manor.

No one wanted to stay in the Wilder mansion more than they wanted to, so they all ditched off into Meltokio streets when they had the chance of being alone. As always, the area was crowded with people waiting for a sale or just being tourists.

_Wow…this place really is huge. Two main squares and they're already filled up to the brim with people._ Kiryll looked around. _This has to be the liveliest city I've ever seen. I don't think even Zaphias has a candle against it._ "Hey guys, do you know where-?"

It was around that time that he realized that he had wandered too far from the big group. He smacked himself in the face, wondering just how dense he was to do something like that, and then shrugged. They were all going to meet up back at the Wilder mansion _sooner_ or later. He might as well wander and hope no one tries to kill him or hunt him down or something.

Actually…finding at least one of them doesn't seem like a bad idea.

Sighing, he decided that all he could do was wander and hope that he found someone with a familiar face. As he walked through the streets, he stared at all of the tall buildings that people were living in and just how nice they looked. He couldn't help but wonder how much they cost. Turning a corner, he saw two familiar people talking to each other.

_Vanguard minions?_

He panicked, and hid behind the wall as they were talking. With his heron senses, he was more than able to hear their conversation from such far off. Hopefully, none of them would walk through and see that the Wild Card was just a few feet away.

"_Hey, did you hear? They're saying that the Wild Card's in this city!"_

"_Wait, the Wild Card? You mean that heron with the silver hair? Who said that?"_

"_One of the guards. He said he came in with this huge entourage or something and went to the Wilder mansion."_

"_The Hunter mansion? I thought that he was in league with the Star Order or something."_

"_At this rate, they're going to get him in no time."_

"_Oh-hoh-hoh…not if we have anything to say about it. I propose that we get ourselves that long awaited promotion!"_

"_What, like a RAID?"_

Kiryll paled before he began to stroll away as casually as he could. If the Vanguard was in the city, he was going to have to hide as soon as he could. Not only that, he was going to have to warn the others that they're on the prince hunt yet again. He darted his head around and realized that he was being followed.

_Crap…they found me._

He quickened his pace, and heard that they started up as well. Before he knew it, he was in a race for his life. The people were more than willing to get out of the way as he tried his best to stay away from the Vanguard soldiers. Finally, he found himself in the middle of the square. He spread his wings and began to fly into the air.

"You're not going anywhere."

Two gunshots rang out, one going through one of his wings and the other hitting his side. Hurt, he spiraled from the air and crashed into the ground. When he looked up, he saw a young woman with long, blond hair point two guns to his face. Two soldiers swarmed next to her, but they didn't wear the Vanguard crest.

"General Legretta! Is that him?"

"Yes, this is the Wild Card. Van will be pleased."

_Van…the God Generals!_ Kiryll froze. _They're part of the Oracle Knights!_

"Excuse me, but what are you doing with our prize?"

He looked up to see that the Vanguard had swarmed in as well, led by none other than Alice herself. Kiryll tried to take the opportunity to run when he realized that he was completely surrounded by the troops. He couldn't run out if he tried.

"The Vanguard…so you must be the half-elf Alice, aren't you?"

"I'm blessed to know that you know my name, Legretta the Quick." Alice said sarcastically. "However, that man belongs to us."

"I made the hunt, first of all. Naturally the Wild Card belongs to the Star Order." Legretta looked up. "What does a bunch of anarchists want with such a power, anyway?"

"Our wants are just as important as yours, you know. In order for our new kingdom to prosper…we need him."

"That's enough. I've claimed the Wild Card, hence we are done. Soldiers! Take him away!"

Kiryll looked up as he saw two of the Oracle Knights grab his injured body and hoist him up to his feet. Instantly, he saw two Vanguard Knights charge from nowhere and attack them. Suddenly, a fight broke out between the two warring armies. Kiryll took the time to squeeze out of the mess, only to be grabbed by two Vanguard Knights who were waiting outside the mob.

"_Don't you think you hit them too hard, Arche?"_

"_Nah, he'll be fine! Now YOU…hah, I never knew that you could punch that hard!"_

"_I got it from Yuri…never thought that I actually needed it."_

Kiryll could barely recognize the voices when he could see someone waving them onto what seemed like a ship. It was only after he was thrown in that he realized that he was sent back into Ad Libitum. He sat down just as Arche threw off her Vanguard mask.

"Man, you would've thought that the Vanguard would be subtle about running around the city!" She chuckled. "I hate to say it, but if they're seriously trying to save their country, they're on a bad start!"

"Just be grateful that Legretta was there as well. If it hadn't been for the conflict, we wouldn't have been able to get him out of there." The other one removed his helmet, revealing him to be Flynn. "Still, the fact that they were able to find us so easily…"

"_It's the Wilder family…"_ Kiryll leaned back on his chair. _"I…overheard a few of…the Vanguard soldiers. They're…in league with the Star Order."_

Everyone darted their heads toward Kiryll in shock when they saw that his face was getting paler and that he was sweating uncontrollably. He looked up to see that Estelle was holding his forehead and moving his hand, revealing his gunshot wound to the world.

"He's been poisoned." She panicked. "Hold on, Kiryll! _**Recover!"**_

She began to glow in a bright white light as mana flowed through his body. He closed his eyes, expecting that he was going to be better. Instead, he opened his eyes and realized that he still had his cloudy eyesight. He shook his head, forcing Estelle to try again. After a few minutes, it became clear that this poison was definitely not something that's curable with human standards.

"What's going on? None of my spells are working!" She stepped back.

"It's the Star Order. They obviously found a way around healing artes." Leon folded his arms. "Maybe his Persona can cure it."

Kiryll nodded as he concentrated on his hand. After a few long minutes, his mind became too cloudy, and he sighed. Looking at his hands, he noticed that there was no tarot card in sight. Was something wrong with his summoning skills?"

"His skills are sealed…" Arche gasped. "And the fact that Estelle kept using Recover on him means that it's passing healing artes as well."

"All right, then we only have one thing we can do!" Stahn slapped his hands together. "Estelle, you're a heron right? Don't you have a Persona or something?"

"No, I don't!" She stood. "I've already tried summoning one, but nothing happened!"

"Dammit…OK, Estelle? I'm pretty sure that his body can still accept First Aid spells! You make sure he doesn't pass out on us!" Stahn darted his head toward Luke. "Hey, what about you?"

"Who, Zaou-Gongen?" Luke answered with a shocked look on his face. "Yes, I have a Persona, but I don't think he has a healing arte!"

"Oh, _come on!"_ Stahn held his head in confusion. "There has to be **SOMEONE!****"**

"Astrid…have you had any contact with Zelos?" Flynn turned to her. "Maybe if you can call him back onto the ship?"

"I tried that already. He's deep in his training with his father." She panicked. "Oh man…his Persona Clotho has the _**Mutudi**_ ability as well. At least it would allow Kiryll to use his Persona too!"

"Zelos is going to be back on the ship by tomorrow…" Yuri held his head. "All we can do now is keep him alive until then."

"Estellise, how is he holding up?" Rita leaned over her.

"He's still hurt." She stood up. "If only I had a Persona…"

"All you can do now is make sure that he's still alive when Zelos comes in tomorrow morning." Luke shook his head. "Damn, isn't there something we can actually do?"

"All right, we go on a hunt! Estelle, we're going to get him to his room! Everyone else, spread out!" Arche shot her hands out. "Ask every single heron on this ship if they have a working Persona with a healing arte!"

Everyone ran out to the inner reaches of the ship as the girls hoisted Kiryll to his room. He was barely conscious when he was lowered onto the mattress and the covers were thrown over his shivering figure. He looked up and realized that Arche was telling Estelle something, causing her to leave the room.

"_What did…you say to her?"_ He asked.

"I asked her to get you cold water and a towel. You know, the usual things we bring people with fevers." Arche grinned. "How're you holding up?"

"_Just dandy…"_ He grinned back. _"I'll live the night."_

"Hopefully. We have no idea what kind of poison Legretta gave you in that bullet." Arche leaned over. "Seriously, if you need anything, Estelle will be here to help you."

"_Well…maybe some small talk…would be nice."_ Kiryll laughed as he coughed. _"Ow…that was too hard."_

"Small talk? Well, I guess leaving you alone is a bad idea." She grinned. "So…what do you want to talk about?"

"_Um…I've been…thinking about this for a while, but…"_ He looked at her. _"How did…you meet Jade?"_

"Dad? Oh well, that's a pretty strange story, actually." She laughed. "He was in the Lone Valley in Sylvarant around the time that I was trying to find the Wind Spirit Sylph. We ran into each other and he saved me from a couple of monsters. It was weird: he was a human, yet he had so much magical talent that I didn't even know humans had."

"_It's…probably because of…his heron blood."_ He grinned.

"Yeah, probably." She grinned. "I think I was annoying him, since he had that air of _'back off!'_ around him. But before I began to think about it, he suddenly adopted me as his daughter. To this day, I still have no idea why."

"_Well…that was nice of him."_ Kiryll laughed. _"I never saw him…as a father."_

"Well, me neither. And he isn't a very good one either." Arche laughed. "Still, he has this way of giving off a support vibe the same way lazy dads do. It'll be a while before he warms up, though…"

"_Just…give him time. He'll warm up…eventually."_

"Yeah…I hope so."

Suddenly, he heard a snap in his mind. Instantly, a figure of a tarot card formed in his mind. It held the image of two eyes and a black flame, hovering in front of a blue background that held cross patterns. He was still glowing, catching Arche's interest.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** It was Arche's grown voice. She actually sounded pretty. **"I, THE MAGE OF ELVEN BLOOD, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."**

The glowing faded, leaving Kiryll alone. He turned to see that Arche's face had gotten wide in shock. She obviously wondered just what the hell happened in the last few seconds. Kiryll grinned and chuckled to himself, a clear indication that he was alright.

"_I'll…tell you later."_ He answered.

Arche was about to argue that she wanted to know now when he suddenly started to cough rapidly. He covered his mouth, only to realize that he was coughing blood. Arche stood in a panic before running out of the room to get Estelle. The poison was getting worse.

"" "" ""

**The plot thickens! Not only is Zelos' family Hunters, but they're in league with the Star Order, an organization after Kiryll! Man, didn't they learn that a stressed-out heron is just as useful to them as a rock? Come on, give him a break…**


	37. All She Could Do :LOVERS:

**Let's get the facts straight: Zelos Wilder's family is messed up. They're a bunch of Hunters with a heron child and in league with the Star Order, the same order that's after Kiryll Nightroad. Not only that, but now he's been poisoned by Legretta the Quick. Hopefully, he'll stay alive long enough for Zelos to come to his aid.**

**LEN****- Aw, come on. They already know what's going on. He's of MAIN CHARACTER STATUS! There's no way that he'll-**

***SMACK***

**Enjoy!**

"" "" ""

Estelle was able to help the blood coughing for a while with her First Aid spells. After he had calmed down, everyone hesitantly turned in for the night. He closed his eyes to try getting some sleep, only to realize that he was not able to sleep at all.

_God…it's impossible to sleep…_ He sighed. _And here I thought the poison made sleeping easier. Maybe it's the short breaths…_

He opened his eyes and turned toward Estelle. To his shock, she was trying her best to keep herself awake. His movement only seemed to snap her out of whatever type of sleep that she had been successful of achieving at that moment. She shook her head, a look of fear plastered on her face.

"_A-are you OK?"_ She said. _"Do you need me?"_

"_No…but thank you…for asking."_ He swallowed, hoping that he wouldn't cough up more blood and scare her. _"Are you really…going to stay up all night?"_

"_I have to…someone has to watch over you."_ Estelle stated. _"Most of our healers are out on overnight missions, so…I'm the only one left."_

"_Oh…well…don't push yourself. It…won't be good…if you pass out."_ He grinned. _"Not only that…you'll put some wrinkles on that cute face."_

She blushed in the moonlight, covering her cheeks as if that was going to make it any less obvious that she was blushing really hard. It made Kiryll laugh so hard that he started coughing again, making Estelle panic. He looked at his hand and smiled.

"_No blood."_ He lifted it up. _"Still…good."_

"_That's…good."_ She looked down. _"I really hope that Zelos can come quickly…"_

"_Don't worry…Estelle. I'm going to be fine."_ Kiryll smiled. _"The poison…it's slowing down…from the treatment…you're giving me."_

"_I'm…it's working?"_ Her eyes lit up.

"_Yeah…I feel fine now. Not in…the amount of pain that I was in before."_ He sighed. _"You can calm down."_

"_Not until you're OK. You might say that you're OK, but the poison is still in your body."_ She said. _"…if only I had a Persona. I might be able to help you…"_

"_All herons…have a Persona..."_ He said. _"The only problem…is you."_

"_Eh?"_

"_Herons need a clear mind…in order to summon one. Yours…isn't clear…yet."_ He smiled. _"Any…mental obstacles…hinder a summon. Clear…your mind."_

"_Mental obstacles?"_ She held her head. _"What do you mean?"_

"_Secrets…issues…anything that…holds a human back…holds back Persona."_ Kiryll looked at the dark ceiling. _"The term…used…is a Shadow…"_

"_Shadows that…hinder the mind."_ Estelle looked down.

"_Don't push yourself…Estelle."_ Kiryll answered. _"You'll…only hurt yourself."_

"…_but I need to help you."_ She looked at him. _"Do you think…telling my secret is going to help me?"_

"_You…don't have to…"_

"_No, it's OK. I wanted to tell someone this anyway."_ Estelle sighed. _"You know how I'm a princess for Zaphias?"_

"_Yes. It means…that you're in…the running for…the throne…of Zaphias."_ Kiryll answered. He paused. _"You're…scared."_

"_I never saw myself as a leader of anything, much less a queen. I'm scared of what I would do if I was a leader of my people."_ Estelle looked out of the window. _"Whenever I get scared about it though…I think of Yuri."_

"_Yuri?"_ He grinned.

"_He's an excellent leader, compared to me. He's calm when a situation happens, strong enough to fight off an army, yet kind-hearted as a leader should be."_ She sighed. _"It's weird. If anything, he should be the king, not me. But he would never want the crown. It would just slow him down. He just…wants to be free…protecting the people on his own terms."_

"_Protecting…the people."_

"_Yes. Sometimes, I wonder what Zaphias would be like if I were to inherit the throne with what I learned from my travels with Yuri. Maybe…I would be a better leader…"_

"…_Estelle…"_ He chuckled. _"You…like him?"_

Instantly, her face went even redder than before. The many efforts to try to hide her face made Kiryll begin to laugh, though he had to control himself so that he wouldn't wake up anyone. Through his fit of laughter, he became aware of the fact that Leon was standing at the dark doorway. He lifted his finger to make sure Kiryll stayed silent and then suddenly swung his hand in the air. Instantly, he went into a raging coughing fit.

"K-Kiryll?"

He lifted up his hand and realized that he was coughing up a lot of blood. Estelle panicked and tried to use a First Aid spell, but not before he coughed up more blood and collapsed back onto the bed. She squeezed her hands and closed her eyes.

_My spells won't work on him anymore…he's losing blood faster than I can slow down the poison…_ She bit her lip. _No…don't think that way Estelle! You're the only one that can do this! Think…think!_

She held her hands out in the air, concentrating on her spell. Instead of a First Aid spell, she found herself crushing what felt like a piece of glass in her hands. Instantly, Kiryll heard a shatter in his mind and passed out. Estelle panicked, only to be stopped by a figure hovering next to her. It was a woman with a mask and feathers, her eternally still face turned toward the now unconscious victim.

"A Persona…? Her name…Ishtar?" Estelle nodded. "OK then…Ishtar, _**Amrita!"**_

She swung her hands as a bright white light hovered over Kiryll's figure. She watched as the blood vanished from his mouth, and the color in his skin returned. Ishtar returned back into Estelle as she leaned over at the recovering young man.

"_Kiryll…? Kiryll!"_

"_He'll be alright. He just needs his rest."_ Leon came from the shadows. _"Was that a Persona, Lady Estellise?"_

"_I-It called to me. She told me her name and said that she can help me…"_ Estelle smiled. _"At least…Kiryll's all right."_

"_The poison's gone from his body, and the seal's broken as well."_ He turned to Estelle. _"I'll take over the night watch. You should get some rest. You deserve it."_

Estelle hesitantly nodded before heading off to her room. When she was gone, Leon turned toward Kiryll and nodded. Instantly, the figure of an angel clad in armor appeared behind him, casting a spell over him. Kiryll instantly woke up to the shattering of another card and a tarot card flying out of his body. It held the image of a man and woman as silhouettes over a heart and a sun.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** It was Estelle. **"I, THE CONNECTION BETWEEN MAN AND WOMAN, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."**

The card flew back into his body as Kiryll weakly turned toward Leon, who had an expressionless look on his face and accompanied by his Persona. It was immediately dismissed when they made eye contact with him.

"_What…did you do?"_ He asked weakly.

"A Persona will only come to a heron when the need is dire. You were in a condition that wouldn't allow Ishtar to come to her." Leon answered. "I merely gave her the situation."

"_By…nearly…killing me."_ Kiryll felt so safe right now.

"I was planning on interfering if Estelle really wasn't destined to have one. You're not the only one that has a Persona." He answered. "How are you doing, anyway? Her Persona is new, so its power might be weak at the first spell it casts…"

"_I'm fine…just really tired."_

"That's just because you have a lack of energy. You should get your sleep now. You'll be better in the morning." Leon turned around.

Kiryll was about to say something when he decided that he shouldn't bother. As Leon left his room, he closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep. Unlike last time, he actually succeeded in getting into a deep, peaceful sleep. Hopefully, he won't be attacked in his slumber.

"" "" ""

_**She was wandering in a dark cave. Chills were running up and down her spine, and she was rubbing her arms in an effort to keep herself warm. A warm hand touched her back, and she turned around to see that it was Lloyd. She turned her head around and saw that Guy and Reala were inspecting the walls.**_

"_This place could cave in at any moment." __**Guy looked around. **__"Are you sure that this place is stable?"_

"_Of course it is, Guy! I've come through here a lot before."__** Lloyd turned to Astrid. **__"We just need to find and defeat three Oannes, right?"_

"_That's…what the mission told us to do." __**She answered.**_

"_The mission seems too simple…" __**Reala turned to Lloyd. **__"Oannes are very common in this place."_

"_Hey, I wanted a simple mission, 'kay? Something to warm up the blood."_

"_By going into a cold temple. Yeah, that's great logic."_

"_Shut up, Guy."_

"_By the way…are you cold, … ?" __**Guy turned to her. **__"You've been shivering for some time."_

"_Huh? N-no, I'm fine." __**She shook her head. **__[There we go again…I can't hear him say my name…]_

_**Suddenly, a roar echoed in the frozen caverns. They all turned around to see a dragon fly over their heads, accompanied with a strange yet familiar figure. It was a woman…dressed in a white outfit and had some type of rapier with her. Before Astrid could figure out what's going on, everyone was screaming as the temperature suddenly dropped around them. She looked down and realized that her legs were freezing up.**_

"" "" ""

Astrid jumped from her bed in a panic. Instantly, she threw her covers off her feet and wiggled her toes. There didn't seem to be any type of freezing up on her legs. She collapsed back on her bed, happy that it really was nothing more than a dream. Then again, it felt realistic enough…

"_**Augh…it hurts…"**_

She darted back up to a sitting position, holding her head from the head rush. Suddenly, she realized that she recognized the voice. Was it someone's death wish? All she could hear was someone coughing up blood.

"_**What did…Legretta do to me?"**_

Astrid suddenly realized that it was Kiryll's voice. Panicking, she threw herself to her feet and ran toward his room. As she ran, she realized that his voice was starting to die down from her mind. She panicked even more as her pace quickened. _Wait, don't tell me that-_

"Kiryll's fine."

She darted her head around and saw that Leon was walking toward her with a blank look on his face. They passed each other in the hallway without so much as crossing eyes.

"Estelle was able to cure the poison. He's just resting now."

"Oh…I see…" She sighed. "That's good."

"So that's the power of the White Witch…hearing the dying people's last wishes." Leon stopped. "And here I thought that you can at least tell the difference between recovery and death."

"…I wish I could have that ability too." She shook her head. "But at least he's fine."

"Go back to sleep. You're going to stress yourself too much if you're just going to run around the ship at night."

"…yeah, you're right."

Astrid rubbed the back of her head as she walked back to her room, avoiding eye contact with Leon. Deep inside her mind, she knew that she wasn't going to get any sleep tonight. For what reasons…well, she still hasn't figured out what that could be.

"" "" ""

Kiryll stretched out the tiredness from his bones, shocked that he was still alive despite what had happened last night. Slowly, he stood up in his room, stretching out his legs. Unless he was missing something, his body seemed to be perfectly fine.

_Oh wait! My wings!_ How in the world did he forget that he got shot in the wings?

He turned toward the mirror in his room and extended his wings. Oddly enough, the bullet wound that he was sure was present before was now almost nonexistent, replaced by another feather. Come to think of it, there was something weird with his wings. He looked at the mirror and started counting.

_Thirteen feathers on each wing…two sets are smaller than the others…and yet one of them is exceedingly bigger._ He leaned back. _Is it just me, or am I gaining feathers on my wings?_

The door suddenly slammed open, starling him. He darted his head to see Zelos huffing and puffing as if he had ran a mile. When they made eye contact, Zelos' jaw opened so wide that he was expecting the muscles to just give in and crash onto the floor.

"They said that you were poisoned!" He said.

"I was…but Estelle was nice enough to cure me." Kiryll rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry if I made you worry."

"Are you kidding me? I was able to leave that blasted manor of mine early." Zelos straightened himself. "But how in the world did Estelle cure you? And how in the world are you _better_?"

"Wait, WHAT? He's better?"

Instantly, he saw Stahn and Arche tackle into Zelos as they charged into the room. They stared at Kiryll's blank look on his face, before reaching over to check that he was indeed OK. After confirming it for about seven minutes, they began to sob.

"How in the world?"

"It's a long story…so let's not state it here." Kiryll laughed. "We should go to the mission room. I'll tell everyone there."

_**-SKIT: Magical Beds!-**_

"_OK, seriously. How in the world are you FINE?"_

"_I was cured, Stahn." Kiryll answered. "Because-"_

"_So wait a minute." Arche stepped in. "You're saying that sleeping for one night actually CURED YOU of your injuries __and__ your poison?"_

"_No, I'm not saying that-"_

"_Arche, please consider what you're saying here…" Zelos sighed. "You're saying that any type of rest is going to cure the world of all illnesses and diseases."_

"_You never know! Think about it! When was the last time that you were bleeding to death and then felt perfectly fine when you went to an inn?"_

_***Silence***_

"_You guys, it wasn't like that." Kiryll shivered. "Estelle-"_

"_I'm telling you: innkeepers got it made!" Stahn slammed his hands together. "They have magical beds!"_

"_Oh god, you have no idea how I just thought of that statement." Zelos sighed._

_**-END-**_

**Yep, so Len basically spoiled it for you. Yeah…**


	38. The Temple of Ice

**So Kiryll's been healed. Now he can get everything into gear. Maybe a mission or two will get his mind cleared up.**

"" "" ""

Kiryll slowly walked into the mission room, seeing that everyone was there to get a daily job. When they saw him enter the room, they were shocked that he was still standing and alive. Some slapped his back while others merely gave him the nudge. Chat, however, seemed the happiest out of all of them.

"So then…" She grinned. "Are you ready to take on another mission?"

_Is that all I'm good for?_ He thought. "Sure."

"Chat? Can I ask you something?" He turned his head to see that Natalia had been standing there the entire time. "Has Guy gone on a mission? I haven't seen him around."

From the corner of his other eye, Kiryll noticed that Astrid had frozen in place.

"Actually, yes he had. It was an easy one…something about monsters and a guild or something…" Chat leaned over. "They had to get some form of certification and something to that matter…"

"Oannes…right? And something about the Temple of Ice?"

Everyone turned toward Astrid, who had a panicked look on her face. It was then that Leon was catching on to what she was trying to state. Chat, however, didn't seem to think that it was something that was worth thinking way too hard into.

"Yeah, that was it…" She rubbed the back of her head. "I think he brought a group with him…"

"Lloyd Irving and Reala." Astrid answered. "That's…all I'm aware of."

"No, I'm sure that he brought someone else…" Chat snapped her fingers. "Philia! That's the other one! Yeah, they haven't returned from the Ice Temple as of yet…"

Kiryll realized that Astrid's face had completely turned white. As subtly as she could, she slinked out of the mission room and hurried through the hallway. Kiryll slowly followed her, going so far as to find her arranging through all her gummies and items in the lobby.

"What's wrong with you?"

She panicked and turned around, calming down only when she confirmed that it was only him.

"I had a dream about them last night. They were all in the Temple of Ice doing their mission…and they ran into Alice!"

"Alice?" Kiryll's face dropped. "From the Vanguard?"

"She did something to them with an Ice Dragon…" Astrid continued. "And at the same time, a Vanguard soldier told her about your presence in Meltokio…or at least that's what I think someone said. I couldn't really be sure about it…"

"You think that they're in the Temple of Ice?"

"Yes. And they need our help." Astrid swung her naginata. "You don't have to believe me. I can do this alone."

"I believe you. You're not the type to lie about something like that." Kiryll grinned. "So it'll just be the two of us?"

"The two of you…going where?"

They turned their heads to see Princess Natalia staring at them with a worried look on her face. Kiryll was also quick to realize that her bow had been strung and that her quiver had been stocked to the brim. She obviously was thinking the same thing that Astrid was thinking.

"We think something happened to them in the Temple of Ice." Kiryll said. "I'm guessing that we're all headed toward the same direction?"

"The Temple of Ice? That's where they are…" Natalia looked up. "Take me with you. I have to know what happened to them!"

"We're not complaining. Are we, Astrid?"

"Of course not, Princess." Astrid nodded. "Hm?"

Everyone turned their heads to see that Luke had charged in out of nowhere, a determined look on his face. From the looks of things, he wanted to know what happened to his friend as well. Kiryll turned toward Astrid, who just nodded with embarrassment.

"You're on the rescue squad as well, Luke." Kiryll called.

"No, it's not that!" Luke answered. "The Imperial Knights…I heard that they occupied the place! We can't get in if we tried!"

"The Knights?" Natalia gasped.

"It had something to do with the Vanguard or something like that." He answered. "They're thinking that the place is a Vanguard hotspot!"

"Great. Now we can't get in!" Astrid panicked.

"Well…we could always try sneaking in…" Kiryll sighed. "Or see if Flynn is still on the ship. We might be able to use him."

Luke immediately dashed off to find Flynn. Fortunately, he was more than willing to let them in _(he mentioned something about helping his original, but Kiryll dismissed the comment)_. Once they were in front of the Temple, they watched all the soldiers running around following orders.

"Stay close to me, guys." Flynn said. "Drift off too far and they'll think you're trespassing."

Everyone nodded as they walked through the mass of soldiers. When they went to the entrance of the temple, they saw that the soldiers there were being interrogated by a familiar figure. When he turned around, Kiryll realized that it was the Commandant Alexei.

"Ah, if it isn't Lieutenant Flynn Scifo." He grinned. "What brings you into our investigation?"

"We were told that one of Ad Libitum's groups was in the Temple of Ice as of yesterday." He answered. "They haven't returned, so we assume that they're still inside."

"Guild members? I see…" Alexei nodded. "Well, I have all my men inside the place as we speak. If we find them, I'll be sure to let them know that you came for them."

"You really don't get what we're asking for, do you?" Kiryll said. "We're asking if we can look for them ourselves."

"I'm sorry, but we are deep in an investigation right now. No one but our current knights are allowed in at the time." Alexei stated. "But I will send my knights to find your companions to-"

"You won't find them. As of right now, your army has no idea what exactly to look for."

Everyone turned their heads to see that Astrid was standing right in front of Flynn. Her voice sounded flat, nothing like what they were used to. Instead, she sounded older and more mature than usual. She walked straight up to Alexei and looked directly into his eyes.

"Our companions have been attacked by an Ice Dragon, controlled by the Vanguard general Alice. The ice that is created by an ice dragon can easily blend its victims into the walls of the Temple of Ice. I wouldn't be surprised if you passed over their bodies this entire time."

"What are you saying, you lowly mage?"

"I'm saying that I'm the only person here that has a clue of where exactly to look for them. The place that we're heading toward isn't in the general area of where your knights are. We aren't going to be in your way, and we'll be out of your way when we find them."

The staring contest continued on for a few long minutes before Alexei finally got out of the way. They walked into the Temple and were instantly smacked in the face with the chill. The one that was frequently noted was Luke_ (I mean, his midriff is showing and he's exposing most of his arms, so…)_. Meanwhile, Astrid was walking in a hurried pace.

"Astrid? You have a clue on where to look?" Kiryll called to her.

"I…I remember that they were walking around here…" She answered, turning toward Kiryll. "But…after that, the direction's hazy."

"Hazy?" Natalia walked forward.

"Like…they were walking down this pathway…and then the next thing that I remember is that they were walking down a completely covered ice path." Astrid looked around. "This place doesn't even have the amount of ice to cover the floor."

"Maybe that was just a coincidental dream, Astrid. They can't be all that accurate." Luke looked around. "We'll just have to look around on our own."

"No, Astrid's right…someone has been here before." Flynn looked around. "It feels like…Guy."

"Guy? Oh yeah, you're connected to him in fonon frequency." Natalia walked next to him. "Did he come through this way?"

"Yes…once. Though it seems completely concentrated on this one place…right here." He stood in front of one of the rock walls. "Then…I don't feel anything past that."

"That just screams secret passageway, you know." Kiryll looked around. "There's probably something around here that they went through."

Kiryll leaned down and touched the ground, trying to see if there was a pressure switch on the ground. Quickly, everyone else went into the search as well. Flynn looked at the wall that he was standing in front of and realized that someone had been leaning on it. He pressed on the wall, and watched as the ice suddenly melted to reveal the hidden doorway.

"Whoa." Luke turned his head. "That's…fascinating."

"Is that…pure ice?" Natalia peeked inside. "How could someone walk in something like that?"

"That's it…" Astrid walked in first. "This is from my dream…"

"Well, then. It looks like we're going this way." Kiryll pointed inside. "Let's go."

As they walked further into the ice cavern, Kiryll couldn't help but notice that Astrid's gaze was becoming that of a pattern: looking both left and right at the opaque blue crystals that formed the walls of the area. Flynn was walking next to her, as if confirming that this was the direction that they went.

"Kiryll…I'm sorry to ask this, but…" Natalia turned to him. "Can we really trust Astrid's word? I mean, it's a little hard to believe that she had dreamed about them being here."

"She's never lied to us about something like this, Princess. Not only that, but she's been pretty accurate up to this point." Kiryll turned back to her. "I think that it'd be rude on her behalf if we just started doubting her now."

"…You're right. I'm sorry to have brought up the issue."

"That's OK. It seems a little hard to believe, but we have to trust her." He turned to Luke. "You don't seem to have a problem about this."

"I don't, actually." He answered, looking at the mage as she wandered the ice cavern. "I can trust Astrid in something like this. Besides, she is a mage, after all."

"Wait a minute…I remember hearing a rumor about her in the streets of Baticul…" Natalia turned to Kiryll. _"Is she…the White Witch?"_

"Yes, she is." He answered, completely oblivious to her fear. "But don't worry. She's nicer in person. And despite what you might think, her powers are fully in check."

"I…I see." She answered. "Well, if Luke doesn't seem to have a problem with her…"

"Heh…you and Luke seem to be close to each other." Kiryll chuckled. "I can assume that you two have met before?"

"Of course we have." Natalia turned to Luke. "And he is my betrothed, after all."

Everything just sorta stopped at that point. Kiryll froze in place in the way that he always does. Flynn stopped walking and turned to him as if he had heard the strangest news ever. And as for Astrid…she slipped and fell on a piece of ice. Flynn was the only reason why she didn't slide across the entire floor.

"So…Luke is the heir to the Kimlascan throne?" Flynn asked as calmly as he could.

"Yes. Luke fon Fabre is the future king." Natalia sighed. "Though I have to admit that his…childish behavior is somewhat of a turn-off."

_Somewhat…?_ Everyone thought.

"What happened to the old Luke? The one that promised that we were going to rule our country in peace and prosperity?" She asked him.

"I would have to say that he got lost around the adolescent phase and that you should take your complaints to the next desk over." Kiryll joked. "Though I would hate to say this, but she doesn't take well with complaints."

"Geez, I can hear you guys you know!" He answered. "And it's not like I wanted to change!"

"Hm?" Astrid stood up. "What do you mean?"

"It's just…something that happened, a long time ago." Luke mumbled.

"Seven years ago, Luke was kidnapped by members of the Star Order." Natalia chipped in. "He has no memories of the incident or of his life beforehand."

"Natalia!" He sighed. "You don't have to label me as an amnesia victim, you know!"

"No, it's perfectly fine Luke. In fact…I sort of envy you." Kiryll stepped forward.

"Envy me?" He looked confused. "How in the world is that possible? You have a lot of battle skills than I do, first of all."

"Not like that, Luke. We actually have something in common. I too have amnesia about my past." He looked up at Luke. "The only difference between the both of us is that you're lucky enough to be with the people that can provide you with any type of answer that you seek. On the other hand…I have to keep searching for mine."

"Kiryll, I…"

"It's all right. You're a good person, Luke. The Star Order shouldn't have done something like that to you." Kiryll placed his hand on his shoulder. "You've found your answer. Now it's time to rebuild your life back on what you can do as of right now."

"Hmph. Well, sorry to cut the lecture short, but my life is perfectly rebuilt, thank you very much!" Luke answered, folding his arms.

"Then why do you have that strange look of doubt in your eye?" Kiryll smiled. "You think that you can't meet up with the standards that are placed on you, right?"

The pure accuracy of Kiryll's statements made everyone stop in place. Kiryll nodded as he turned toward Flynn, who seemed to be the most successful of holding in his shock.

"You're just like Flynn here…trying to find your identity with all the standards that are placed upon you and with the ever-changing standards that factor your everyday life." He nodded at the both of each other. "You're only a heron, Luke. You're not God. Don't force yourself to work with a deadline."

"…right." He said half-heartedly.

"The same thing applies to you, Princess." He smiled toward Natalia. "Amnesia has a way of hindering former talents."

"I understand. I'll try not to pressure him." She nodded.

Kiryll nodded, happy that he had at least took the burden off of a kindred spirit _(though he felt as if he had jumped into something that he was later going to regret)_, and then turned to continue on the road. Well, he would've, if he hadn't crashed headfirst into an ice wall.

"Gah!" He backed up. "Huh?"

"It's a dead end." Natalia stepped forward.

"That's strange. I didn't think that there would be a hidden passageway with a dead end." Luke held his chin. "Unless someone already took the treasure at this end…"

"Wait a minute…" Flynn held his hand on the ice. "Guy's presence…he's nearby."

"In the ice?" Natalia panicked.

"It's the same as in my dream…" Astrid leaned forward. "They were attacked and turned to ice…"

"Then we just have to get them out, right?" Luke asked.

"That's a problem. If we try to just melt this ice, we run the chance of melting all the ice here." Flynn looked up. "That could cave in the entire temple!"

"So we'll just have to use Persona, then." Kiryll said. "Luke, we're going to need you."

He nodded as he threw his hand in the air, a tarot card erupting from his palm. When he crushed it, it became the image of a blue man in chains and white bandages, holding a small gold staff. Kiryll joined suit, summoning a humanoid cat with a hat on its head.

"Senri! _**Agi!"**_

Instantly, he heard a snap in his mind and the image of Norma appearing in his head. She had achieved the same pointing position that Kiryll was doing right now, only with a smile on her face. When he turned, he saw that Senri's fire was getting bigger in her palm.

"All right, let's do this!" Luke turned to the ice. "Zaou-Gongen! _**Ma-"**_

_***FWOOOSH***_

The flame that erupted from Senri's finger grew humongous, completely engulfing the ice. Once Senri was dismissed, it revealed four figures, collapsing onto the cold ice. Everyone ran toward the victims to make sure that they're all right, save for Luke and Kiryll.

"That was from an Agi spell?" Luke's eyes glinted. "Geez, remind me never to ask what your Maragidyne spell looks like."

Kiryll chuckled as he walked toward Astrid. She seemed to be in shock at the fact that her dream was completely accurate, down to the victims themselves.

"So, how do you feel?" He asked.

"A little…relieved. At least everyone's all right." She turned to him. "But still…I never thought that the dream would be real."

"What made you trust it to be real, anyway?" Kiryll tilted his head. "You didn't have to."

"Well, it's…a trend, when it came to my dreams." She turned toward Reala, who was waking up in Flynn's arms. "Sometimes, when I go to sleep, I have the strangest dreams about certain individuals. I never really know who I am in my dreams, but…they always seem to be about the past."

"So you dream about the past." Kiryll grinned. "At least you never can forget about things."

"Yeah, you're right." Astrid nodded. "And if I ever get a dream that seems related to you, I'll be sure to let you know."

"So the White Witch can dream into the past. I'm not surprised that a person with such a morbid name holds such a unique power."

Everyone looked up from their place to see a figure in front of them. He had dark red hair and a black outfit. Green eyes glared at them, unmoving.

It was Asch the Bloody.

"" "" ""

**So many issues! God, Kiryll, can't they ever leave you alone…?**


	39. Faced with the Truth :DEATH:

**So when Kiryll found the victims that Astrid had dreamt about, they ended up encountering none other than Asch the Bloody himself, the God-General from the Star Order! Can he get out of there before he gets bagged by the Order?**

"" "" ""

"So you were cured of the poison, I see." Asch looked at Kiryll. "Not bad. Here I thought that I was going to pick up a dead carcass."

"You obviously doubt the potential of my companions." He answered with a smile on his face. "That's one of the many reasons why you can't catch me, no matter how hard you try."

"Tch. They're small fry, compared to you." Asch growled. "I can take care of them one-by-one!"

He jumped into the air, charging straight toward Astrid. She grabbed her naginata, ready to defend herself, when she realized that someone had blocked his attack. Looking up, she saw Luke throw him off his blade and Asch slid away from them.

"Are you OK, Astrid?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She answered. "But what about-?"

Everyone turned toward Asch just as Reala got back onto her feet. Before he charged, she jumped in front of Luke and spun her rod in the air. Instantly, the ice around him began to melt and spiral over Asch's head. He looked up in confusion.

"Oh ever flowing water, fall upon my foe with all your might! _**Splash!"**_

The water crashed over Asch's head. While the water was pouring on him, Astrid stood up and began to chant to herself, hiding close to Luke's back.

"Ice of the crystal cavern, trap my enemy within…_**Ice Wall!"**_

The water instantly froze, trapping Asch within. Everyone slowly staggered to their feet, staring at the trapped God General who showed no signs of moving or attempts to escape. Kiryll, in all his curiosity, began to poke the ice as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Um…should we get him out of there?" Natalia asked.

"He tried to kill us!" Luke answered. "And remember that he's after Kiryll!"

"I know, but…" Natalia turned back to him. "He's still a human being."

"Well, I've heard of stories about people who can live for years encased in ice…" Lloyd tilted his head. "Maybe it'll apply to him as well?"

"Still…" Astrid turned to Asch. "Maybe we should at least poke a hole for him to breathe through…"

"Will that actually work?" Philia asked.

As that debate was going on, Kiryll realized that there was a bright red spot that was growing bigger in the ice. He jumped backward just as the ice shattered around Asch, his blade encased in fire. He turned toward the group as the flames became larger.

"_**Devil's Inferno!"**_

The slash of the blade threw everyone off their feet. As Kiryll sat up, he looked at the anger that was plastered all over his face and the flames that became small wings on his back. It was then that he realized something: his anger wasn't directed at him, but at Luke. It was also then that he realized that his bangs had fallen over his face.

And he looked exactly like Luke.

"N-no way…" Kiryll backed up. "That's…the power of Lorelei."

"Lorelei? Like the Pentagram Lorelei?" Philia gasped. "How's that possible?"

"He must've been able to summon Lorelei somehow." Guy grabbed his blade.

"But that's impossible for ordinary humans." Reala answered. "The only people that have to power to control him are herons!"

"Then you have no idea about me."

Kiryll's head darted back up toward Asch's whose face was starting to get even angrier. The flames were starting to become so large that they formed darts in the air. They flew toward Luke, who panicked. Astrid was about to throw herself in front of him when Luke's wings threw themselves open, blocking each of them. His wings were a bright orange, almost glowing like lava.

"Wh-what?" Luke looked at the feathers. "What happened to my wings? Are they on fire?"

"No, they're not." Astrid looked at the darts that were flying off him. "That's…Lorelei's power as well."

"The both of you can use Lorelei's spells?" Natalia turned to Asch. "But…why?"

"Like I said…you have no idea about what I went through." Asch's voice was deep, almost with a hidden sadness. "I used to have a past. I had a family a long time ago. I was loved by my parents, and even had a fiancée I could call my own."

"A…fiancée?" Natalia gasped. "Wait…"

"Then, one day…everything changed. I was taken away by the Star Order just because I was blessed by Lorelei. I thought that getting out of there would be the end of my problems." The tip of his blade pointed to Luke. "But when I came home, I saw that someone had taken my life away! My home, my family, everything!"

"W-wait…wh-what?" Luke's eyes went wide. "What are you…?"

"Don't you get it? You took my life away from me." Asch growled. "You're nothing more than a replica…just as much trash as the next!"

Luke was in a panic as everyone else stood there in shock. Natalia seemed to have it the worse, learning that the man she was destined to marry had been replaced when he was taken from the Order. Kiryll was about to saw something when someone moved, throwing Asch's blade away from Luke's face and skidding him back.

"Flynn…" Luke's eyes widened. "What are you…?"

"Oh, I see. I'm not the only one who's been cloned against my will." Asch stood up, his glance turning toward Guy. "You're just as worthless as the man you're trying to protect!"

"I beg to differ, Asch." Flynn's voice was hollow. "Replica or not, we have just as much purpose in this world as you do."

"You have no right to lecture me on anything, replica!" Asch charged his blade on Flynn's. "You're nothing more than a waste of flesh and blood on this planet!"

"I have a name, God-General. It's Flynn." He blocked his attack. "Flynn Scifo, Commander of the Imperial Knights!"

Everyone quickly ducked themselves out of the way as the both of them began a one-on-one duel. Kiryll went toward Luke to make sure that he was OK, only to see that Astrid had gotten to him first. His face had been frozen in pure shock, obviously unable to click everything into place.

_I'm…a replica._ He thought. _I'm…not supposed to exist…?_

"Luke…" Kiryll leaned to him. "Luke, are you OK?"

The duel between Flynn and Asch was starting to heat up. They were going into skills that Kiryll didn't even know that Flynn had. Before their eyes, they watched as Asch jumped backwards as his blade hovered in the air. Instead of flames surrounding his sword, it looked more like fonons in their purest forms.

"Damn replica…by the name of Lorelei, you'll exist no longer!" His blade fused with the fonons. _**"Soul Explosion!"**_

Asch stabbed Flynn in the stomach, shocking everyone. When he pulled the blade out, everyone saw that he wasn't bleeding from the attack. Flynn looked confused as well, holding the wound as well, but realized that he was leaking fonons. His body began to glow as his fonons started to separate.

"What in the world…?" Lloyd gasped.

"Originals hold a string of fonons that are held together by a good string of mana. An attack such as Soul Explosion would severely wound them, but nothing that a week's worth of recovery won't solve." Asch lifted his blade. "For you, replica, whose body is nothing more than a connection of fonons…I just spelled out your death sentence."

Flynn froze in place as his body completely degenerated, vanishing into nothing more than a collection of fonons. Philia screamed in a panic as Kiryll ran in the middle of the gathering, almost as if he could easily gather them together.

"_Flynn…"_ He muttered.

"You out of all people should know the uselessness of a replica." Asch stated. "This works for you, Wild Card."

Kiryll wasn't even listening, his mind slowly being consumed by anger. His hands were shaking and he could hear himself growl underneath his ragged breath.

_**[That's it…consume yourself in anger.]**_ The voice that echoed in his mind seemed so familiar. _**[Of rage…of madness. Let my anger of the world enter your blade…you were nothing more than a weapon for my hatred upon this cursed world…]**_

"…Kiryll?" Guy panicked. "Are you all right?"

"Luke!" Natalia lunged toward Asch. "You were never one to murder without reason-"

"Shut up! I'm not Luke anymore!" His blade reached toward his replica. "Not as long as this bastard lives on!"

"No! You're not going to do anything to Luke-sama!" Astrid jumped in front of Luke, her naginata out. "I won't allow it!"

"Sama? What, you're placing the replica in high respect now?" Asch shook his head. "You're just as useless as he is."

_**[Take in my hatred…release it on the man that took away your friend…your WINGS! Take flight!]**_

Kiryll's eyes flashed bright red as he grabbed his cross, warping around his right arm to become bone. Astrid gasped as he lunged toward Asch, who quickly jumped out of the way of his attack. Kiryll's eyes turned to him, and everyone lunged back at the sheer evil that had completely took him over.

_What in the world?_ Lloyd shivered. _Is this…what Yuri was talking about earlier?_

"So that's the other form that Van was talking about." Asch said. "No wonder he wants him."

Kiryll roared as they stated a one-on-one match. The ones that were stuck at the sides could only watch as the Kiryll that they knew was attacking like an animal, calling out for blood. This appearance brought them up to the mention of Guede, a man that was after Kiryll just as much as the others. _Could this Guede person already take over Kiryll's body?_

"Damn…you're powerful when you're in your other form." Asch jumped back as fonons gathered around his blade. "If I snap the connections between his fonons, he should revert to normal."

_**[That's right, Kiryll. Asch's blood will satisfy your anger. KILL HIM!]**_

**No, Kiryll. Don't.**

That voice snapped Kiryll back into consciousness just as Asch charged toward him. Kiryll threw his bone arm to protect himself when he realized that the arm started to take a different shape. When the glow vanished, it became that of a golden cross shield, with the gem straight in the middle where Asch's blade had reached its target.

_What? He snapped out of it on his own?_ Asch flew back.

**I'm fine, Kiryll. You don't have to kill him.**

_It…it can't be!_ Kiryll lowered his hand. _Where is he-?_

**The Phoenix. Use it.**

Kiryll turned his head around to see if he could find out where the source was coming from, only to see that Guy had heard the voice as well. All Kiryll could do is follow the voice. Dodging another one of Asch's attacks, he summoned the Phoenix from his soul. When it erupted from the card, he knew that something was wrong.

"The Phoenix…!" Philia watched it. "The symbol of reincarnation in so many legends…"

"Wait, hold on a minute!" Reala stepped forward. "Where is it going? Kiryll, I thought that you controlled it!"

Kiryll knew that he couldn't control it. He watched as the Phoenix flew around Asch's body at around the same speed as Flynn. When Asch finally turned around, the Phoenix was being surrounded by orbs of fonons. Suddenly, it erupted in a bright light. When the light faded, the Phoenix shot out straight over Asch's head. And hovering over him, his blade in the air, was none other than Flynn himself.

"_**Hitenshouku…RISING FALCON!"**_

His blade pierced his shoulder, causing Asch to stagger back. Everyone was shocked at the fact that Flynn was back in one piece, but Asch was the main problem. They heard someone stand, and they turned to see that Luke had finally risen to his feet.

"I'm…you." He said.

"You're a failure, that's what you are." Asch growled. "And a thief."

"Are you leaving now?" Natalia stepped forward. "At least let me heal your wounds-"

"Your kindness is not necessary, dear Princess."

Instantly, Asch was encased in thick ice. Luke panicked and summoned Zaou-Gongen, melting the ice. When it was done, he realized that Asch was gone. Standing behind the ice was a woman in white robes. She held a crown on her head, almost making her look like a queen.

"I am Elraine the Pure." She answered their thoughts. "If you must know, Asch has been taken into a safe place where he can be treated nicely. I have to say, you've done quite a number on him…replica."

"…" Luke backed up.

"You're such a naughty boy, replica. Taking his life away like that and not even thanking him for it." Elraine pointed at Luke. "Such a waste."

"Don't call him a waste!" Flynn stepped forward. "He's just as human as you are."

"Well, if that's what you want to believe, replica…then I'll leave you to that." Elraine encased her in ice. "I must be going now, but I'm sure that we'll meet again."

Kiryll watched as the ice melted as quickly as it was created, showing that Elraine had vanished. He turned around to see that Luke was staring at him with a worried look on his face. He turned to Natalia, who had completely blown him off. Luke then turned to Guy, who did the same thing. Luke stopped, looking down.

"Luke-sama?" Astrid looked at him. "Are you OK?"

"…Yeah, I am." He answered. "We should get back to Ad Libitum."

Astrid nodded as she led the others out of the tunnel. Kiryll stepped forward before he realized that Flynn was standing in place, staring at where Asch used to be. Then, he turned toward Luke as he was walking alone in the tunnel.

"How did I get back to normal?" He finally brought up.

"I'll assume that Jade might know something about it." Kiryll answered. "So we should head back and ask him."

"Yeah, true."

As he walked behind Flynn, he heard a voice from the back of his head. He felt his Cruxis Crystal pulse and the image of the Death tarot card appeared in his mind.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART ME. I, THE GRIM REAPER OF DEATH, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."**

_He trusts me? But how? I sided with his replica._ Kiryll thought. _OK, now's not the time to think about this. I have to worry about Luke and Flynn right now._

"" "" ""

When everyone came back to Ad Libitum, Kiryll noticed that his close friends were waiting for him in the lobby. Stahn slapped his back with a major grin on his face as Arche leaned over until they were a few feet away from each other's face.

"Dude, you're OK!" Stahn laughed. "Thank god! From what I heard from the others, you went through pure hell!"

"Oh, that. Yeah, I'm fine." Kiryll turned to Flynn. "If it hadn't been for Flynn here, I might've been lost."

"No, really. It's nothing like that." He answered.

"Yeah, it hadn't been like that." Yuri sounded a little mad. "And you say that I take too much extremes. I heard what happened to you, Flynn! What the heck happened?"

"Oh…about that." Flynn sighed. "I don't know. We were about to go ask Jade about it."

"Hey, speaking about people from Auldrant…" Arche stood up. "Did Luke get into an argument with Natalia and Guy? They weren't talking when they came in."

"It's a long story…" Kiryll turned to the hallway. "We'll talk about it while we look for Jade."

"" "" ""

**Wow…long stuff. Harsh. And Flynn is about to hit up his awesome bar, but he's not even close to Yuri's!**


	40. A Few Explanations

**So Luke's a replica, Flynn finds himself with some awesome powers, and now Astrid's referring to him with a princely title. It sucks that Kiryll has to THINK about this!**

"" "" ""

After a few minutes of walking around in the area, Kiryll found Jade in the small laboratory that Chat had recently built up. When they walked in, he noticed that there were other people in the room _(mainly Raine, Harold, Pascal, Rita, and Philia out of all things)_.

"Oh, you're back." Jade nodded. "I've heard from Philia of what happened. You're a box full of surprises, Flynn Scifo."

"Oh…thanks. Actually, I'm here to ask you about that." Flynn said. "Philia must've told you about the exact turn of events, but I'm not sure how that actually happened."

"Well, we have no idea how either." Raine turned to the others. "The science behind a replica's reconstruction of their fonons is something that we haven't figured out."

"I might have a proposition if you guys want to listen to it!" Pascal's hand went in the air as if it was a school question. "You wanna hear it, you wanna hear it?"

"Say it already. This isn't a school demonstration!" Rita sighed.

"All right then." Pascal slapped her hands together. "First things first…Flynn, can I see your hand? Take off your armor so I can get a more accurate reading."

Flynn looked a little confused, but complied with what she asked for. She reached out her hands and touched his palm as if she was giving him a fortune. Suddenly his hand began to glow and emit fonons, causing him to panic. He turned to the others, who held the same panicked look on their faces.

"…15.999. A few of them have rounded up to 16." The glowing stopped. "Your fonon frequency is 15.999."

"Fonon…frequency?" Flynn blinked.

"It's a number that shows the amount of fonons that are reacting in your body. The number falls on a chart that marks up what type of fonon is the most common in your blood cells." Jade propped his glasses. "By that number, your body is mostly made up of the combination of the Third and Sixth fonons. The fact that it's close to a real number and not a decimal means that the balance of the Third and Sixth fonons is almost perfect."

"Meaning…?" Flynn looked confused.

"You have the same amount of Wind and Light fonons in your body." Rita translated. "Pascal, what are you going at here?"

"I'm not done yet!" She chirped. "Kiryll, according to what Philia told us, he came back through a Persona of yours."

"Uh…y-yes." He answered. "The Phoenix."

"Phoenix…I see." Pascal lifted her hands. "I'll need a reading of that as well."

Kiryll looked confused before he summoned it. When it came, its feathers reached over toward Pascal's hands. She touched it and closed her eyes as the fonons began to emit from the Persona as well. When it was done, Phoenix vanished and her hands opened.

"15.999…rounded up to 16." She looked up to them. "I knew it. They're perfect isofons of each other."

"Perfect isofons, you say…well, I wouldn't say that it's impossible since Flynn here is a replica." Jade folded his hands. "Still, I would prefer that we get a reading of Guy before we jump into any conclusions…"

"Wait, hold on a second!" Stahn's voice nearly cracked. "Don't go on your 'scientist-rant' before you explain to us _normal people_ just what the heck you're talking about!"

"Ah, yes…about that. A fonon frequency is basically the exact number that measures the amount and reaction numbers of anything created by fonons, be it a human, heron or Persona." Rita folded her arms. "Each number is unique, even if it's off by 0.0000001 of a point. Then there's the issue of perfect isofons: two beings that have the exact fonon frequency."

"Wait…you just said that everyone has unique fonon frequencies." Arche blinked. "Since when did perfect isofons exist?"

"In a sense, perfect isofons only exist when they're created artificially." Harold stated. "Since Flynn is a replica, him being a perfect isofon isn't impossible to consider."

"OK, what exactly happens with perfect isofons?" Yuri folded his arms. "The only thing that you're telling us is that they share the same fonon frequency."

"That's usually most of the cases when replicas are involved, since the both of them are usually human." Jade looked at Flynn. "But in this case, the two in question are a human and a Persona. Hence, it leaves the potential to surpass boundaries that even herons such as me and Kiryll can achieve."

"Achieve…what?" Flynn looked worried.

"He's talking about surpassing normal mental capacities." Raine stated. "Like using Kiryll's Phoenix to recreate your body."

"You're saying that Flynn could use my Phoenix to do more than just modify his physical state?" Arche tilted her head.

"If his mental powers are strong enough, it's actually possibly for him to take over the Phoenix's mind." Pascal stated. "Though that's something that I don't think that you have to power to do yet."

"So…I can be Kiryll's Persona if I have to." Flynn held his head.

"Don't tell me that you're seriously considering it." Yuri looked at him. "It's mostly pure luck that you got your body back. Don't risk it even more!"

"I won't, Yuri. I'm not a risk taker, like you." He grinned. "Hopefully, I won't have to do that again."

"Don't put it out of your mind just yet, Flynn." Harold said. "From what we can gather, Asch the Bloody has the ability to instantly kill replicas by separating the fonons that merge in their bodies. In fact, expect to do something like that at a daily basis."

"Wait, I want to suggest something." Kiryll looked up. "Asch has a prejudice against replicas, right? He'll go after them if he wanted to."

"That's what it looks like." Rita said.

"Is it possible that both Veigue and Luke can do the same thing that Flynn did?" He asked again.

"Are you suggesting that Veigue and Luke should have their fonon frequencies measured with your Persona?" Jade chuckled. "I don't think that it would be a surefire way to-"

"He might be onto something." Pascal grinned. "All right then. I'll check in with Veigue and Luke before calling you in. Don't go anywhere until then, 'kay?"

"Sure. Of course."

"" "" ""

Kiryll and his friends decided to lounge in the coliseum, making clear sure that both he and Flynn are OK. Looking down into the coliseum, they watched as Emil and Senel dueled in what seemed to be a close match. Across the bleachers, they saw Marta cheering off the top of her lungs for her "Emil-kun", much to Arche's disgust.

"_Has she ever figured out that sometimes cheering like that distracts people?"_ She muttered.

"What can I say…she obviously likes the guy." Yuri grinned. "How old are they, anyway?"

"Like hell I know what her age is." Arche sighed. "All I know is that Emil is 16 and has ever-changing eye color, depending on whatever mood he's in."

"Changing eye color?" Stahn looked at her. "That's a new concept."

"Yeah, well…it's hard to see it now, but whenever he's fighting or when he's mad, his eyes change color from green to red." She pointed at him. "See? You can see it right there."

"Oh, I see it." Kiryll squinted. "Only barely, though."

"Well, you don't have to look at his eyes. Apparently he goes through massive puberty when he gets mad." Arche laughed. "Like, he starts hating everyone and his voice literally DROPS! It doesn't even sound like Emil!"

"Oh…" Yuri had an evil grin on his face. "And how would you know something like that?"

"W-what? Oh…" Arche was taken aback. "W-what can I say? Marta's been bragging to me about it, and then I started noticing it. It's like how he carves little things out of his food or whatever…"

"And how would you know _that?"_ Yuri seemed to have a ball with this.

"W-what? I was in the kitchen and he was showing me how to cook." She suddenly realized how that could be thought out. "Hey, I was pissed that everyone said that my cooking sucked and he was the only person I could find with decent cooking skills!"

"_**Riiiiiiiiight…"**_

"**DON'T ****TAUNT**** ME, YURI LOWELL!"** Arche darted to her feet. "Or do you want me to release upon you those cross-dressing fanboys from Meltokio again?"

Immediately Yuri shut up, causing Kiryll to wonder just what happened while he was in Meltokio getting attacked. Kiryll skimmed the small crowd in the coliseum when he made eye contact with Chloe. He smiled, making her glare before turning away. Suddenly, her eyes widened. He turned his head to see that Norma had walked inside the coliseum with another girl. She was blond and looked almost fifteen. She was waving at Senel, distracting him. Emil took the opportunity to throw an Azure Edge at him. He dodged it, sending the Azure Edge straight at Flynn. Kiryll extended a wing to block the attack almost instantly, startling Flynn.

"Whoa! Uh…thanks." Flynn blinked.

"No problem." Kiryll lowered his wing. "I haven't actually used it in a while, so I thought it'll be a nice stretch for them."

He was about to dismiss it when he saw that Arche had been touching it for the past few seconds. She was skimming the feathers before she touched one small one in particular. Kiryll noticed that it was glowing pink under her fingertips. After a few other seconds, she began rubbing her face on it, enjoying the moment.

"Uh…Arche. You do realize that we can all see you right now." Yuri said with a straight face.

"It's like COTTON!" She chirped. "I want it, I want it, it's so soft ^o^"

"Uh…sorry, Arche, but…" Kiryll felt a little uncomfortable. "It's still…attached to my body. If you ripped it out, it's going to hurt…"

"Hold on, let me see." Stahn touched it. "Arche, this feels like cold glass! Are you smoking something?"

"No, it doesn't feel like glass! It's like a soft pillow…" She continued to rub it on her face. "You obviously don't understand!"

"Like hell I don't understand! You're rubbing your face on **WINDOWS**, first of all-" Stahn's hand skimmed over one of the feathers, making him pause. "OK, THIS is a soft feather!"

"Does it feel like cotton?" She touched it. "Stahn, it feels like sandpaper!"

"No it doesn't! It feels like an apricot!" He stared at it. "Maybe it tastes like one-"

"Stahn, _**NO**_. It's still attached to Kiryll, first of all." Yuri argued, skimming the feathers before touching one in particular. "What's up with your wing, anyway?"

"Oh yeah, I was planning to ask Jade about it when I came back from my mission. I guess I'll ask him later." He stared at the other two before dismissing his wing. "Remind me never to summon my wings around you two anymore."

"Awwww…why?"

Kiryll merely cringed before standing up and dashing the hell out of the room. When he was out, he realized that he had accidentally taken the new blond girl with him. They stared at each other for a few seconds before he realized that he had his arm around her stomach.

"Oh, uh…sorry." He backed up.

"N-no, it's OK, really." She answered. "Um…are you a member of Ad Libitum?"

"Yes, I am." Kiryll nodded. "I'm Kiryll Nightroad. And by your actions back in there, you must be related to Senel, right?"

"Yes. I'm Shirley Fennes, his sister." She bowed. "And that wing…you're a heron, like me!"

"Yes." Kiryll nodded again. "Don't worry, there are a lot more herons on this ship than you might think."

"Norma told me that. She said that I'll be safe if I stay here." She answered. "Oh, right! I have to meet up with her! I'm sorry, I'll see you later."

She dashed off back into the coliseum, leaving Kiryll alone. After a few seconds, he decided that he might as well hunt down Jade and strangle some answers out of him. He wandered in the hallways before he bumped into Harold, who didn't seem surprised.

"Ah, I was just looking for you." She grinned.

"You were?" Kiryll blinked.

"Yes. You seemed like you wanted me to answer some questions, so I figured that I might as well find you and save you the trip." She laughed.

_Whoa. Harold's good…_ "Well…I was thinking that Jade could try answering my questions, but if you insist…" He pointed to the air next to him. "I had an incident with my wings back in the coliseum. Arche took a liking to one of the feathers, but when Stahn touched it, he said that it felt like glass."

"Your wings?" Harold nodded. "Can I see one of them?"

Kiryll froze, hoping that she won't turn into Arche, before extending his wings out to her. She slowly skimmed the feathers on his wings before stopping on one in particular. Kiryll noticed that it was glowing a bluish-pink _(if that's even a color)_ under her touch.

"Oh, that's nice. The feather is bigger than I thought." She turned to him. "I'm touched, Kiryll Nightroad. I never thought that you thought of me so highly."

"Huh, what?" His face went red. "What are you talking about?"

"Each one of these feathers represents a Social Link that you have achieved. From what I can concur, Arche has come in contact with the feather that represents your Social Link to her." Harold's hand hovered over her feather. "As this one here is mine."

"Wait, why is her feather bigger than yours?" Kiryll looked at it.

"The closer you are to them, the bigger the feather is, since the feathers are representations of your mutual affections to each other." Harold nodded. "Friendships usually make the largest feathers."

"So what happens when I'm close to all of them?" Kiryll looked at his other wing. "All the feathers are going to be the size of elephants!"

"No, it doesn't work like that. You can be close to all of them, but only one of these feathers will be the largest." Harold stated. "And that will be the Social Link with your other half."

"My…other half?" He asked, clearly oblivious.

"You know…" She grinned. "Your soulmate. The one destined to be your lover."

At the word lover, Kiryll's mind suddenly shifted to Kanata. He began to wonder why he was thinking about him when he suddenly realized something: _oh yeah,_ he can be Kyra as well. Would that mean that he could get boys to fall in love with him? And what if the feeling is mutual…?

His face went bright red. Now he understood what Stahn and Arche meant when they were screaming and running away from him when he was first talking about Kanata.

Without even looking at Harold, he dashed out of there.

"" "" ""

**Ahahahahaha…poor Kiryll XD**


	41. Who Am I? :STRENGTH:

**So Kiryll has finally learned the truth behind the feathers of his wings. Not only that, but has now personally traumatized himself of just how oblivious he can get. Oh well, that's Kiryll XD**

"" "" ""

It took a few minutes for the image that he gave himself to pound out of his head.

Sighing, he shook his brain for a few more minutes before deciding that he should go for a short walk. He wandered the hallways before he noticed that Natalia was walking through as well. He smiled, hoping that it'll catch her attention. However, she only sighed, shook her head and walked on.

_What's wrong with her?_ He blinked. _Oh, right! Luke!_

He skimmed the doors in the hallway before noticing that one of the doors was somewhat opened. Without even thinking, he knocked on it and entered. Inside, he saw that Luke was sitting at the edge of the bed, looking at his hands and the floor.

"Luke, are you OK?"

He didn't even turn his head to face him. Kiryll walked inside the room and tapped the side of the bedpost, finally catching his attention. He slowly looked up, and Kiryll noticed that he was looking at him with eyes that were filled with confusion and sorrow. Either that…or he was looking into the open eyes of a dead man.

"Are you OK, Luke?" Kiryll asked again.

Luke cringed, as if that name brought him great pain. He looked back down onto the floor as his fists clenched. Kiryll felt as if he needed the company of his close friends. He began to wonder if he should go fetch Guy and Natalia. He did just pass her a few minutes ago.

_No, don't do that._ He suddenly realized. _She's still confused of the whole Asch-Luke thing._

He concluded that everyone is on the same boat and that he should be the one watching over him. Concluding that he shouldn't sit next to him, he instead opted to stand in the exact position that he was in right now. It was around that time that he realized that he had been quiet for a few minutes.

"You know…if you don't want to be called Luke, you should really give me a name that I can refer to you with." He said with a smile on his face.

"You tell me. I don't even know what I am anymore." Luke said, his head lowered. "Maybe you should just refer to me as 'the replica', keep it simple."

"Nah, it's too much on my tongue." Kiryll said. "If you don't mind, I'll refer to you as Luke like I usually do."

"…Why? It isn't my real name." He held his head. "That's Asch's name…his real name."

"Well, yeah…it's his real name. But he seems to like referring to himself as Asch. It's almost like a nickname." Kiryll chuckled. "Just think about him as the guy that shares your name. There must be thousands of Lukes running around on this planet as we speak."

"But I'm not stealing any of their lives away." He sighed, his head still on the ground. "Asch…I've basically taken his life away from him."

"It's not like you intended to." Kiryll looked up at the dim light in his room. "Tell me, when were you…or Asch, I should say…taken by the Star Order?"

"…by what they told me, it was seven years ago."

"So it was seven years ago that you were created by Asch's blood and fonons." Kiryll turned to him. "During those seven years, has anyone ever told you that you weren't supposed to be living this life and that this was in fact someone else's?"

"N-no…" Luke looked confused. "No one told me that."

"Then none of this is your fault. You just listened and believed anything that people told you. That's common for seven-year-olds to do." He turned to Luke. "You're just a boy, Luke. I'm sure if you tell the others that, they'll believe you-"

"I've tried that…with Natalia." He looked even more depressed than ever. "She just said that I wasn't the real Luke and that I'd been deceiving her this entire time. I thought about telling Guy the same thing, but then I remembered that he and Asch were close friends…before everything that happened. He must think of me the same way that Natalia does."

"Luke…"

"I really am nothing more than a replica, aren't I?" He shook his head. "This isn't my life…I'm not supposed to be Luke fon Fabre…"

"Then give it back to him."

"Huh…?"

"The next time that you meet up with Asch, give him back the life that you accidentally took from him." Kiryll said, sounding oblivious to the major problem about his proposal. "Everyone already knows the truth about him, so they'll be more than willing to accept him back into their lives."

"But-"

"Meanwhile, you can live your own life. You don't have to be Luke fon Fabre anymore. You can just be Luke…or whatever name you think you like." He turned to him. "Look at Flynn and Veigue. They have their own lives and identities, even though they were based off someone else…one of them being your best friend, first of all."

"They're different cases. They weren't made to replace anyone." Luke sounded like he was about to snap. "They grew up in different lives, separate from their originals."

"But they have the same stereotype on them: they are beings that aren't supposed to exist." Kiryll stated. "What they ended up doing is that they created their own lives. That's what I'm saying. You can carve your own destiny that's separate from the life that they said was yours. Give Asch what is his while you go on pushing through life just like the rest of us."

"I…I can give him back his life." Luke looked up. "But how can I completely abandon everything and everyone that I know?"

"Who said that you had to abandon the lifestyle that you have now?"

"Huh?" He turned his head to Kiryll. "But-"

"The only thing that I'm saying that you might have to change is the identity that people have enforced upon you." He turned to Luke. "Like being the future king of Kimlasca? You don't have to be known as that anymore. That doesn't mean that you have to stop your friendship with Natalia or Guy. It just means that you're going to have to approach them…_**differently**_…than what you were originally doing."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, obviously they can't see you as being Luke fon Fabre anymore, now that they know that there's the real one running around." Kiryll chuckled. "You're different than Asch, so just try introducing yourself as just plain Luke. With the thousands of Lukes on this world, I'm pretty sure that they won't mind if they could just add one more to the List of World Names."

"That's what I'm worried about." Luke turned to Kiryll. "I mean, I can expect Guy to be a little more understanding of my situation…but what happens if they don't accept me anymore?"

"Both of them are grown adults. Sooner or later, they'll understand that you were being manipulated just like they were and that you had nothing to do with what happened to Asch." Kiryll said. "In the meantime, you have everyone else on this ship to start over with."

"Everyone…else?"

"Yeah. You know, the usual gang that I hang out with…Astrid, Leon, Chat…especially Flynn and Veigue. They didn't know who you were before the Star Order incident, so I'm sure that they'll be more willing to accept you." He chuckled. "Unless they're extremely racist against replicas. In that case, I'm sure that Arche and Kyle would pound them into changing their minds."

"Kiryll…"

"To put it figuratively…change your strategy, not your cards." Kiryll grinned. "You still have people that'll support you in whatever choice that you decide on in your life."

"…What if…and I'm saying that this probably won't happen, but…what if no one accepts me? What if I'm ignored by everyone because of who I am?"

"Well then…" Kiryll elbowed him. "I guess we'll be two lonely drifters earning our daily keep on the road!"

"Wait…we?"

"Yeah…us." Kiryll grinned. "You're not going to be alone, Luke. If everyone is going turn their backs to you…you might as well have someone at your side while that happens."

"Kiryll…thanks." Luke stood up. "Wow…with everything that happened…I need to sort everything out…"

"Take your time. Don't rush." Kiryll stood with him. "You're just a kid, you know."

"Hey, I'm not just a kid you know!" Luke stormed to the door. "I'm a perfectly grown adult!"

"You know what they say about growing up too fast!"

The both of them started laughing to themselves before Luke walked out of his room, leaving Kiryll alone. After a while, he heard a voice in his head and the image of the Strength tarot card appear in his mind. He turned around as if someone else would be watching him glow a blue light.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I. I, THE STRENGTH OF A THOUSAND MEN, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND. AND WHEN THE TIME COMES…I WILL GET STRONGER, SO THAT…"**

The image vanished from his mind, and Kiryll knew that he and Luke were getting closer. He grinned in the loneliness. Hopefully, Luke would be able to adapt to the new life that he had been forced to undertake. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Harold's voice echoed in his mind.

"_Your Social Link with your other half…your soulmate."_

All of a sudden, the image of Luke cornering Kiryll to a wall with a smile on his face popped into his brain. His heart skipped a beat, and his face went completely red. It was around that time that he realized that he was alone in LUKE'S room. He grabbed his face as he ran straight out of the room.

_**DAMN YOU, Harold!**_

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**Yeah…Social Links…sorry for completely throwing you in a loop of confusion, Kiryll XDDDDDDD**


	42. Flickering Image :TEMPERANCE:

**Now that I have completely traumatized Kiryll with that image in his head, I will now proceed to do what Persona 4 does well: SOCIAL LINKS! Hell, why not? Expect some filler chapters that have everything to do with Social Links. These'll be rapid fire, so don't be surprised to find three chapters up per day!**

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Kiryll rubbed his temples for a few minutes, unable to figure out just what happened to him back there. Hopefully _(and he stressed that term with all of his strength)_, it was just the part of him that was still Kyra and not seriously him. If it was…

_No no NO! Don't think that!_ He smacked himself. _I thought we clarified this before…despite what you used to be, you __**DON'T**__ swing that way!_

He held back all of his muscles and wished to whatever god was present in this world that he doesn't strangle Harold the next time she passes him before deciding that he SERIOUSLY needed some fresh air. He quickly walked up to the elevator and slowly waited for it to bring him up to the deck. Once he was up, he quickly dashed out into the sunlight…

And almost smacked into the girl in front of him.

"Gack!" He backed up. "Oh, uh…sorry."

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't see you!"

"Huh?" He finally straightened his vision. "Oh, Kanonno."

"Hm?" She looked up. "Kiryll? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, me? I, uh…" How the heck could he phrase a situation like **THIS?** "I need some…fresh air. With all that happened and stuff…what about you?"

"I was just…strolling around the deck." She made motions with her fingers that symbolized walking. "Care to join me?"

"OK…" He really needed to hang out with the opposite sex right now.

He casually walked next to Kanonno, who seemed to hold no problems against walking in circles in the deck without so much as caring or wondering if she was actually doing anything practical in this sense. After a few long minutes, he found himself staring at her innocent face. She turned to him with a smile.

"Hey, Kiryll...you know that Guede person that's chasing you around?"

"Hm?" He looked at her. "Well, it'd be stupid if I didn't know that he was chasing me around."

"Haha, very funny. Anyway, I forgot to ask you this…" She turned to him. "What exactly is he chasing you _for,_ anyway?"

"Oh, well…" He rubbed his Cruxis Crystal. "He wants my Cruxis Crystal. He says that it's his."

"That doesn't make any sense…" Kanonno rubbed the back of her head. "From what I got from the others, every single Cruxis Crystal is unique to their own heron. He didn't seem to be a Hunter, so…"

"No, that's the thing. You see, he says that I can assume the identity of anyone that I can either meet or think up." Kiryll lowered his hand. "He even says that my name and my appearance, as of right now, aren't mine."

"Wait…as if you can change your appearance?" Kanonno's eyes widened.

"Huh? Uh…I…I guess." Kiryll looked startled. "Though I never looked into it."

"Well, if what Guede said was true, that would mean that you can change your appearance at will, right?" She said. "Maybe you'll remember something if you change into someone else."

Kiryll never thought about that. Then again, he did remember a bit about his past when he turned into Kyra. He decided that he was going to try transforming into some. Closing his eyes, he imagined himself slowly turning into Stahn _(it was the first name off the top of his head)_. After a few seconds he opened his eyes, feeling nothing different.

_Maybe I have to do something else than just that…_ He blinked. _Oh yeah, I should use one of my Persona._

He lifted his hand to focus for a tarot card when he realized that his sleeve looked different. He turned toward Kanonno, whose eyes had widened even more than before. Confused, he headed over toward the side of the ship to see if he could get a reflection. Sure enough, he realized that he indeed turned into Stahn.

_Wow…I actually did it._ He stood up and turned to Kanonno. "I guess Guede was right then."

"Wow, even your voice sounds like Stahn!" She giggled. "That's so cool! Hey, can you use your Persona skills?"

Kiryll was about to answer that question when he heard the elevator moving. Sure enough, Stahn came out of it _(apparently in deep thought)_ when he turned and saw the both of them. He stared at Kiryll for a few minutes…and then for a few more minutes…before he screamed in sheer terror and dashed back into the elevator. Kanonno stared at the elevator for a few seconds before noticing that Kiryll was extending one of his wings.

"My wings seem to be perfectly fine." He answered. "I guess that means that I can use Persona in any form I take."

"That's cool…that means that you can further hide from anyone who hunts you down!" She chirped.

"Well…I hate to say it, but I prefer being just Kiryll…"

He closed his eyes and imagined himself turning back to normal. Fortunately, the logic that turned him into Stahn turned him back into Kiryll. Once that happened, he and Kanonno realized that his wings were still out and that there was a tarot card in his hand. It showed four differently colored boxes with four different images in them.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** Kanonno's deep voice echoed in his mind. **"I, THE BALANCE IN YOUR THOUGHTS, WILL OBEY YOUR EVER COMMAND."**

The card sank back into his body. At that instance, he realized that there was a feather growing on his wings. They reached up above the others, glowing a brilliant white. Kanonno watched the feather as it slowly dimmed down and settled.

"Wow…so that's what makes a heron's wings." She said.

"I…guess…" He answered. "I'm still trying to figure it out."

"No, guys! I _swear, _**I HAD A CLONE **_**RIGHT ON THIS SHIP!"**_

Kiryll and Kanonno turned around to see that Stahn had dragged the others onto the deck, trying to see if he could pinpoint where his doppelganger had gone. However, he was surprised to see that it was only Kiryll in his place. He noticed Kanonno and stormed to her.

"You know what I mean, right? There was another me with you!"

"Huh? What do you mean?" She asked innocently.

Stahn froze for a few minutes, mumbled to himself, and then proceeded to storm back into the elevator, determined to find this other half. The others stared at Kiryll, who only placed a finger at his lips and smiled to himself.

"" "" ""

**Aw, Social Links have a way of learning a bit about ourselves.**


	43. Castigner :CHARIOT:

**Come on, admit it: Persona 4 runs on Social Links! Not only that, but Kiryll Nightroad runs on Social Links as well! Hahaha…you saw this coming XD**

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After a few minutes, he decided that he was going to try finding Stahn so that he could explain to him just what happened back at the deck. He waited patiently in the elevator until it opened its doors, allowing him to leave. It was around that time that he realized that Emil was sitting alone at the nearby desk, looking a little beat but otherwise operable.

"I'm guessing that you had a rough time at the coliseum, huh?" He joked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah…Senel got me good, but I'll be OK." He answered. "Marta kept saying that it was cheating on his behalf. I'm afraid to tell her that I honestly lost."

"Girls are a little scary like that." Kiryll laughed.

Suddenly, a strange noise echoed in the air. Kiryll looked down at his stomach, and realized that he barely ate anything. Another noise echoed out, and he realized that Emil's stomach was making the same sound. The both of them chuckled at each other.

"Hey Emil, you willing to trash the kitchen before lunchtime?"

"Huh?" He stood up. "Is that allowed?"

"Well, if it isn't, I'll be more than happy to take the blame." Kiryll grabbed his arm. "Hence…we're going!"

"" "" ""

When they both entered the kitchen, they realized that it was completely spotless. Emil looked around at the appliances around him before heading off into the fridge. Kiryll didn't question it, only waiting patiently a few feet away for him to leave so that he could raid it as well. However, what he ended up bringing out was a bunch of ingredients that looked like he was going to make something.

"Kiryll, can you tell me where the oven is?"

"Huh?" He turned around. "Over there."

"Thanks."

Emil walked toward where the oven was before he started grabbing any type of appliance that he thought he would need. Meanwhile, Kiryll just grabbed an apple and bit into it. It was around that time that he realized that Emil was going to make a cake.

"Uh, Emil…are you seriously going to eat all of that?" He never thought he was a big eater.

"No, of course not." He answered. "It'll take a while until I'm done, and at that time they're be more people wandering in hungry."

_Huh._ He didn't think about that.

"I'm going to ask this because something tells me that I should, but…" Kiryll looked at him. "You…_**have**_ cooked before, right?"

"Oh yeah, lots of times. I learned a lot from my aunt and uncle." He answered. "I usually cook while I'm alone and they were at work."

"Aunt and uncle?" He looked confused. "What happened to your parents?"

It was around that time that Emil's arms were lowered. Yet again, Kiryll had wandered into the **BAD-IDEA** zone. Fortunately, he was able to grab hold of that fleeting thought and dragged it straight back into port. He bit his lips, wondering what other topic he should bring up that wouldn't mean treading on a bad topic.

"Um…what type of cake is that?"

"Hm? Oh, it's chocolate." Emil looked down in it. "With vanilla frosting."

Kiryll felt the sides of his mouth water. He quickly swallowed so as he wouldn't drool all over the floor. It was then that Emil threw the batter in the oven and then began to make the frosting. The way he was whipping the ingredients made it look like he was a machine and not a human.

"Hey, how did you meet up with Marta?" He asked. "I've always wondered that."

"Haha…she was wandering around Luin when we met." He stopped whipping the frosting. "She was hungry, so I offered her my lunch. She loved my cooking so much, she called me a prince and thought that I was her savior or something. She was always such a dreamer."

"Love at first sight, I see." Kiryll chuckled. "And here I thought only men get won over through their stomachs."

"I guess. After a few more visits, Marta insisted that we wander the world together in search for our purpose in life. She said that I shouldn't be living in Luin for the rest of my life." Emil shook his head. "I don't know why I said yes. I was more than content to living in Luin…"

"Maybe a part of you wanted to live the adventurous life." Kiryll leaned at the side of the kitchen counter. "I'm pretty sure that everyone had dreamed about going to faraway places in some point of their lives."

"That may be it…" Emil said. "But I don't know how to tell Marta that I don't see her as she sees me…"

"Girls can't handle rejection, can they?" He shook his head. "If it's just infatuation, it'll go away…someday."

"Well, what if it _isn't_ just infatuation?" Emil asked. "I don't know how to let her down like that. I've been protecting her from anyone who tries to attack us, but…ugh, nevermind."

It was then that Kiryll realized that he was turning away from him. Kiryll tilted his head and saw that his eyes now held a tint of red in them. Not only that, he realized that his voice got a lot deeper when he said nevermind. He rubbed the back of his head.

"_**Whenever he's fighting or he's mad, his eyes change color from green to red."**_ Arche's voice echoed in his mind. _**"…he starts hating everyone and his voice literally DROPS!"**_

"Did I say…something I shouldn't have?" Kiryll finally asked.

"Maybe you should just mind your own business…" Emil growled under his breath.

"All right. I didn't know I was treading in bad territory. I'm sorry." He said with sincerity in his voice. "Is there anything that we can talk about that won't end up with you blowing up in my face?"

"Well, maybe we should start talking about _you_, for once." Emil folded his arms.

"Me? Well, there isn't much to talk about…since I don't remember much about who I am, but…" Kiryll rubbed the side of his head. "Um…I talked to Lorelei once?"

"That's the most random statement I ever heard."

"It was the first one off the top of my head, sorry." Kiryll chuckled. "You know Lorelei…the guy that-"

"I know who Lorelei is, thank you very much." Emil shook his head. _"Freakin' gentleman who never has a backbone…"_

"What?"

It was then that Emil's head suddenly shot up. His eyes immediately became green, and Kiryll realized that he was back to normal. He turned to the oven to make sure that the cake was OK before turning back to Kiryll, who looked only somewhat startled.

"Hey, uh…did you just mention Lorelei?" He asked.

"Yeah, we were just talking about him." Kiryll tilted his head. "You called him a gentleman without a backbone."

"Did I?" Emil rubbed the back of his head. "I don't remember that."

"You…don't?" He looked confused. "Are you sure?"

"No…man, it happened again…" He looked at Kiryll. "Don't tell anyone."

"That you have multiple-personality syndrome?" Kiryll asked obliviously. "Sure, I can do that. It's not that bad, from what I can see."

"No, it's not that…he's a lot more violent than I am." He shivered. "If it hadn't been for the others, I never would've known the extent of the damage he causes."

"He's telling you to get stronger." Kiryll smiled. "Think about it: the both of you are total opposites. Hence, he's trying to protect you from whatever you perceive to be a threat."

"Huh? But he came out when I was talking to you…" Emil panicked. "But I don't see you as dangerous!"

"…OK, he's trying to protect you from whatever _**he**_ perceives to be a threat." He corrected. "He won't hurt you and whoever you trust, so don't be scared of him."

"…how would you know that?"

"Well, he's been popping up around your friends, and they never said that he was violent around them unless provoked." Kiryll folded his arms. "Hence, he won't harm any of us until he deems us a threat."

"…I never thought about that." Emil nodded. "I guess he isn't all that scary…though-"

"I can watch over him, if you want." Kiryll lifted his hand.

"…thanks…"

He turned his head to watch over the cake in the oven when Kiryll heard something snap in his mind. A card flew out of his chest, revealing the image of two statues holding up a chariot that held a black suit of armor in it. On closer inspection, he realized that it was opened by a yellow curtain.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** The voice sounded more like the other personality than Emil. **"I, THE CHARIOT THAT HOLDS THE WORLD, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."**

Kiryll took the card as it sank into his arm. Looking up, he saw that Emil had taken the cake out of the oven and that it was ready to be frosted. It was around that time that he realized that the cake was in the shape of a bunny rabbit's head.

"Wow…that's creative."

"It's a habit of mine." Emil answered. "Can you help me frost it?"

"Oh, sure…"

He took a spatula and proceeded to help him. Just when they were finished decorating the cake, they heard a rumbling from just outside the walls. Suddenly, the sounds of someone tackling the door began to echo in the room. Kiryll turned his head and saw that Emil looked like he was going to change. Before that could happen, the door flew open and Reid fell over.

"I smell food!" His head darted up.

"Oh, Reid." Kiryll chuckled. "Good thing we made that, then."

"" "" ""

**We all know that Reid can eat everything.**


	44. Indirect Bonding :HANGED MAN:

**Admit it, it's the Social Links that keep everyone somewhat entertained while no one is kicking people's asses. It's fun, what can I say?**

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Kiryll seemed to like wandering the thin hallways of Ad Libitum. As he wandered, he noticed that the ship was landing in a city he never saw before. He peeked out of the window and saw that it looked that it housed a huge university. He decided to take up the opportunity to stretch his legs in a place that wasn't the ship and headed toward the exit.

"What are you doing?"

He turned his head and saw Chloe walking toward the exit with him. She seemed heavily prepared for what seemed to be a mission. She was throwing him a heavy glare, something that he again seemed to ignore or perceive differently than what other people would see.

"I was just going to go for a walk." He answered. "You?"

"I have a mission to do." She answered. "There're rumors of monster invasions in the Mintche Univserity."

"And you're going to handle it alone?" He looked confused.

"I'm a knight…it's the honorable thing to do."

Kiryll stared at Chloe as she walked past him into the city. He looked around to make sure that no one was looking, and then proceeded to walk down the ramp after her. He stalked her for a few minutes before deciding that it was stalking and that he needed a disguise so that he wouldn't find her.

"_Wouldn't that be called stalking?"_ His mind asked. _No, it's called protecting her, shut up. "But you're stalking her!" Yeah, just shush._

He hid behind the wall, hidden behind everyone's view, and closed his eyes, imagining any good disguise that he can think up. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was in what looked like to be a school uniform. He turned to what looked like to be a mirror and _(oh, whoops)_ noticed that he looked like Stahn. If he was in a school uniform…and somewhat straight hair.

_Well, that's one way to go._ He thought. _Hopefully, Stahn won't walk in town…_

He tucked his necklace in his shirt and tied up his loose hair before heading out into the streets. Fortunately, Chloe had paused to buy something at the nearby store before she continued toward the university. When she got there, he paused to take in the surroundings. The building was quite big, framed as if it was a mansion. He could hardly believe that it was a school for _mages…_

"Ah, you must be the one that we called for."

Kiryll casually wandered toward where Chloe was, talking to an old man about the mission. He stared at the plants that were in front of him, wondering if flower gazing hid the fact that he was secretly listening in on someone's conversation.

"You were talking about monster invasions?" Chloe asked.

"Yes, about them. They seem to be coming from the Nostos Cave just a few ways off." The man said. "The barrier blastia that we have obtained from Terca Lumireis had been working in keeping them at bay until recently, so…"

"They'll keep going until the barrier is fixed." Chloe answered. "Have you succeeded in fixing the barrier blastia?"

"Not yet. We need a sufficient enough of aer to get it operating. The flow of aer seemed to have dried up recently…"

"You go ahead and do that. Meanwhile, I'll see if I can help anyone here."

Kiryll's ears perked at the mention of a barrier blastia. Suddenly, someone started screaming about monsters invading them. Chloe immediately charged into the fray just as a wolf jumped over the student. Kiryll stood up as well, turning his head around until he felt his cross pulse.

_The barrier blastia is that way…_

He dashed toward the area _(trying not to trip on the school uniform)_ as the others tried to find shelter from the monsters. After a few minutes of dodging a few screaming teenagers, he found himself standing in front of the barrier blastia. It wasn't glowing like he would expect it to. He had to direct aer to it somehow.

Maybe his cross?

He took off his necklace and slapped it on the blastia. Instantly, he saw a massive amount of aer swarm over toward the blastia, making it glow and pulse in reaction. His body began to ache and his vision became blurry as the amount of aer in the room began to grow. Suddenly, the blastia shone readily, a sure sign that it was working. He backed up exhausted.

_The barrier blastia is working…_ He strapped the necklace around his neck and hid it as planned. _I have to go help the others…_

He wandered out of the room before his body became extremely tired. He collapsed onto the floor, unable to go on, and gave in to the darkness that was swarming in his mind. Hopefully, Chloe could handle the monster invasion until it stopped hurting.

"" "" ""

"Hey, you, young man! Are you alive?"

He felt someone shaking his shoulder, waking him from the darkness. His eyes flickered open, showing him the image of Chloe hovering over his body. He felt his fingers twitch, and concluded that he was indeed alive. He pushed himself up to a slanted position, suddenly realized that all the energy had poured back into his body.

"_I'm…I'm OK."_ He answered weakly. It seemed appropriate enough. _"What…what happened?"_

"The barrier blastia…!"

The two of them turned to the man that Chloe was talking to earlier. He was turned toward the barrier blastia, which was working in perfect condition. She stood up and proceeded toward it, but was quickly held back before she could enter the room.

"No, it's too dangerous! There's still too much aer for you to handle!" He said. "A concentration like that could easily kill you!"

"So it's working?" She asked him.

"Yes, but…" He turned to Kiryll, who was still under his guise. "Do you know what happened?"

He held his head, faking his confusion and wondering how he was going to tell the truth all while lying at the same time. Heh…he'll have to look into acting missions sooner or later. Wait, why is he thinking about that at a time like this? Maybe the aer did something to his thinking process…

"_Well, I…I was going to check on the blastia in case someone would try taking it…and there was someone in the room…"_ He said. Fortunately, his voice didn't sound too much like Stahn's. _"A young man…with silver hair and a jacket…he was pushing something into it…"_

"Kiryll…" Chloe sighed. "When will he learn not to bump into other people's business?"

"_I tried confronting him when he told me to get out of the room…if I hadn't left, I would've…"_ His head lowered as he faked unconsciousness.

"He's out." Chloe said with a surprised voice.

"I wouldn't be surprised. He's been nearly exposed to the aer in there." The man said. He felt a hand on his shoulder. "We should bring him into the infirmary."

"Good. In the meantime, I'll collect my reward and return to Ad Libitum."

Kiryll felt two strong pair of hands lift himself up off the ground and place him on a soft surface _(possibly a stretcher)_. He felt a hand touch his arm and someone leaning close to his ear. The person's breath was rubbing off on his hair, almost making him flinch.

"_I don't know how you did it, but…"_ It was Chloe's voice. _"Thanks, Kiryll."_

He almost darted up in shock, restricted only when he was hoisted up in the air and hand-carried out of the building. Not surprisingly, he didn't hear Chloe's footsteps following his stretcher out of there.

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"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** Chloe's voice echoed in his ear. **"I, THE MAN HANGING ABOVE THE WORLD, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."**

That voice woke Kiryll up, and he realized that he had fallen asleep in the infirmary. No one seemed to be around, allowing him to sit up. He looked down at himself and realized that he was still underneath his guise. How Chloe could catch the fact that he was in fact Kiryll was beyond him.

_Oh yeah, I should get out of here…_

He looked outside the door to see if anyone was nearby, then went back inside to change back into his original form. Opening the window, he quickly jumped out of the room, landing quietly in the bushes. He dashed off toward the pier, realizing that the ship was already out at port. He grinned, extended his wings, and jumped off the pier, flying back toward Ad Libitum.

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**LOL, Chloe's the Hanging Man XD**


	45. The Depths of Difference :HIEROPHANT:

**There's going to be more than enough Social Links, so I think that this would be the last one before going back into the storyline **_**(god, I sound like I'm playing Persona 4…minus the fog)**_**. I might end up making one more after this…I think. I don't even know right now XD**

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Kiryll landed on the surface of the ship, noticing that no one was following him nor watching him land. He stretched his arms, his wings glowing in the setting sunlight, before heading toward the elevator. Sure enough, he saw that someone had walked out of the elevator in front of him. He suddenly realized that it was Veigue.

"Oh, it's you." He blinked. "How are you, Veigue?"

"I'm fine, Kiryll. Thank you for asking." Veigue looked out to the setting sun. "I was looking for you."

"You were?" He tilted his head. "Why?"

"I just met up with Luke a few minutes ago while you were out. He was thinking to himself about what happened to him in the Temple of Ice." He said. "Is it true that he's a replica, like me?"

"Yes, he is. His condition is different from yours and Flynn's, though." Kiryll answered. "He was actually made to replace the person he was copied from."

"The original purpose of any true replica…" Veigue turned to Kiryll. "I've been made to replace as well, you know."

"You have? Wait, you were made to replace Garr-sama?"

"That might've been my original purpose…and maybe I was kept alive for that purpose." Veigue held his stomach. "Until that moment, I was made only to create an Exsphere from a stolen heron's Cruxis Crystal. If it wasn't for me, they would've condemned an original to this fate."

"Then…that would make Flynn the odd one out, right?" Kiryll tilted his head.

"Not the odd one out…the luckiest one out of all of us." He answered. "He doesn't have to endure the shock of learning that he's replacing someone's life or being used just because he's not an original human."

"Wouldn't he still have to endure the people back in Zaphias for being a replica?" Kiryll stated. "I mean, Flynn's commander was racist against replicas."

"Yes, that is true." Veigue leaned on the railing. "Out of the three of us, Flynn has yet to begin his path toward accepting his identity as a replica of a noble."

"The truth is, I really hope that Guy is lenient toward replicas." Kiryll sighed. "If not, then both Flynn and Luke will suffer from it."

"Unfortunately, I haven't seen Guy recently so I can't confirm his position in this decision." Veigue sighed. "Yuri and Estelle don't seem to mind Flynn being one, so he'll be OK. It's Luke that I'm worried about."

"That's true…since Luke had been created when his companions knew Asch." He looked up. "I've talked to him about it, and told him that he could live with Asch in peace."

"I wish that could be true…in a land like this." Veigue turned to Kiryll. "Think about it: this world is run by original humans. They can't even accept replicas into their society. As a result, that hatred extends toward half-elves, herons and even the Gajuma."

"The Huma and Gajuma are on rocky terrain?" Kiryll looked confused. "I thought that they got along."

"Some of them do…but not all of them." He answered. "It's not fair…for so many species to be discriminated just because of where they came from."

"Discrimination is a natural human instinct, Veigue. No one can help it." Kiryll said. "People discriminate anyone and anything that they deem is dangerous, just because they hold the possibility of being a threat to the people that they care about."

"That's stupid. That means looping together all of the innocents with the ones that make the bad images of their race." Veigue looked confused.

"In the end, both innocents and tainted have the ability to destroy human lives." Kiryll lifted his fingers. "Replicas can be genetically altered to fit any need that can be solved, Gajuma have claws and are physically stronger, half-elves can use forbidden magic with ease, and herons…well, they're like the combination of both of them. If you think about it, humans are the most defenseless creatures on the planet."

"…"

"Humans use fear to protect themselves and their loved ones. Usually that fear is accompanied by facts or rumors, most of them being herons attacking innocent villages. It takes one moment to change the mindset of thousands of people, but it takes years for that to change back."

"…we should change that."

"Hm?"

"Discrimination is stemmed from fear, is that right?" Veigue looked up at the setting sun. "Hence, the only way for discrimination to end is to get rid of that fear."

"That's something that would take years to happen. It would mean that you have to convince entire nations of changing the way that they think about something." Kiryll said.

"If it takes my entire life, then I'll do it. That will be my purpose." He nodded. "For me…and for Claire, too."

"Oh yeah, Claire's a heron." He nodded in agreement. "In that case, I'll do my best to assist you."

"Thank you, Kiryll."

Veigue looked at the sunset as Kiryll watched him from afar. Suddenly, his body began to glow as a card flew out of his stomach. It held the image of a spear with six sticks sticking from its sides. Surrounding them are four images that looked like people.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** He heard Veigue's voice from the back of his mind. **"I, THE MAN WHO CALLS FOR PEACE, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."**

"Hm? Kiryll, did you say something?"

"Huh? U-uh..no, of course not!"

Kiryll grabbed the card and pushed it into his stomach before Veigue turned his head around. He sighed as his arm dangled lazily to his side. Apparently the voice can be heard by other people. He was going to have to remember that for next time.

"" "" ""

**Human beings have been programmed ever since birth to listen to what other people tell them. Through that fault in the mental system, children can be taught to develop a fear for someone else just because they are different from them. In translation, being "different" means being "dangerous" to others. What no one realizes is that by giving their children that fear, they are in turn making those that they shun all the more dangerous. Think about it: when people alienate one person from the society, it gives that one person nothing more to their lives than the stereotype that they have been given, cause if they don't live it, what other purpose do they have in their lives? Those that are alienated and yet keep their trust in human society have been blessed with seeing the other side of human beings: these people have in fact encountered those who trust them despite who they are. Why can't there be more people like that in this world?**

…**? Did I just lecture you guys? (O_o) oh…sorry…**


	46. One Other Night :::FILLER!:::

**OK, all the lectures and stuff are out of the way. We are OFFICIALLY GOING BACK INTO THE STORY PLOT! **_**I mean, we have to, since the fog's coming up soon…**_** Wait, what? Oh, nevermind. Let's just keep going.**

"" "" ""

When Kiryll wandered down into the ship, he noticed that Luke and Flynn were talking to each other in the lobby. The elevator was strangely fixed _(Pascal must've done something to make it squeak less)_, so he was able to 'accidentally' walk into their conversation.

"Remember Luke, you're not the only person here that's a replica."

"That's more than enough to say. At least you still have the respect of all of your friends." Luke looked down. "Natalia doesn't even look at me in the eye anymore. Guy…he doesn't speak to me. Even Tear and Jade…why is everyone abandoning me?"

"They're not abandoning you, Luke. They're just trying to sort out everything that happened. Remember what Kiryll told you? Remember what you told me? They're trying to sort out what happened seven years ago."

"I know that…and I know that they'll understand my situation and that I can't be blamed for what happened. But I know them." He looked like he was on the verge of crying. "They'll want to remain faithful to the original Luke…to remain faithful to Asch. I'm going to lose them…aren't I?"

"They can never truly abandon you, Luke. Think about it. Despite what had occurred, they have lived with you for seven years. You know them just as much as Asch does. They can't let you go after all that you've endured together. For the most part, you'll probably have to coexist."

"That's what Kiryll told me. He said that it's possible…so long as Asch can cooperate."

"If you're offering everything that he lost, I would be surprised if he just let it go." Flynn nodded. "But you're not actually giving anything up. You'll still have all your friends here with you."

"…but what if they all leave me?"

"Then you'll have the ones that want to stay behind with you." Flynn placed a hand on his shoulder. "Remember, I'm a replica as well."

"Of my best friend…" Luke shook his head. "You can't replace Guy, you know."

"That's understandable, just as much as you can't replace Asch. But that's OK. Don't see me as Guy's replacement. I'm just Flynn, OK?"

Kiryll stood there in a silence as Luke wiped tears from his eyes. Flynn just smiled as he gave him a smile that surprisingly looked like one that Guy would give him. Kiryll smiled as he snuck around them into the hallway. He was happy to see that he wouldn't be the only one supporting Luke at a time like this.

"" "" ""

"Oh, Kiryll."

He looked up from where he was walking and noticed that Collette was looking straight at him. Her Cruxis Crystal was glowing in the early moonlight, exposed as if it wasn't as crucial to her life as an ordinary Exsphere with a Key Crest attached to it.

"Collette. Hey, why is your Cruxis Crystal out?" He pointed at it. "You know that Hunters are going to be after that."

"Well, I didn't think that I should be living with it hidden for the rest of my life." She answered. "I just say that it's an Exsphere, so people tend to leave me alone."

"Yeah, that's because most of them aren't Hunters." He added. "You must've been chased by Hunters because of that, right?"

"Once…but Lloyd was there to protect me!" She quickly added. "It wasn't such a big deal, since it was Sheena-"

"Wait, what?" Kiryll blinked. "Sheena hunted you?"

"She said that my Cruxis Crystal had to be one of the biggest that Hunters have found that it would grab a big price on the market." Collette smiled. "Not only that, but she said that it could be mistaken for an ordinary Exsphere, so I've been using that excuse since!"

"I see…" He grinned. "Wish other herons could pull that off."

"Oh yeah, speaking of herons…" Her face fell. "What's going on with Luke?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"I've just had a mission with Natalia. When I asked her about it, she said that Luke was with the Oracle Knights." Collette looked confused. "But I just saw Luke with Flynn an hour ago and I don't think that he would join the Star Order after what happened."

"It's a long story, and I don't think people aren't willing to talk about it yet." He grinned. "But the minute that it does, you'll be the first one to know."

"All right! Thank you!"

She trotted away, leaving Kiryll alone. Half of him wondered how she could pull off using her Cruxis Crystal as an Exsphere while Hunters are running around with flaming swords and spears. He shook his head, hoped that Lloyd could in fact protect her from them, and continued on with his lonely trot.

"" "" ""

He found himself standing in the dining hall, where everyone was eating what looked like to be Astrid's cooking. Before he walked in, he felt himself getting pushed inside the room. He didn't have to turn his head around to notice that it was both Arche and Stahn.

"Hey, I can walk on my own two feet, you know!" Kiryll chuckled.

"Yeah, but we were getting hungry and you were being too slow!" Stahn argued. "Besides, Astrid was cooking! You can bet that people are going to demand extras!"

"OK, OK! I'm moving!"

The three of them moved as quickly as they could to get as much food as they can on their plates. When they headed out of the buffet line, they noticed that Yuri and Norma were waving them down at one of the tables. The three of them quickly sat down with them. Suddenly, Arche screamed.

"What's up with you?" Yuri chuckled.

"Something rubbed up against my leg!"

Kiryll turned his head to realize that Repede had walked underneath Arche's chair to join them at the dinner table. He watched as he jumped perfectly onto the empty chair that was present and sat quietly on it, watching as Yuri placed a filled plate in front of him. Meanwhile, everyone else stared at the dog.

"What?" Yuri looked confused. "Don't tell me that you have a problem with him at the table?"

"It's not that…" Arche leaned forward. "It's just that I've never seen a dog sit perfectly on a chair like that."

"Geez, how long has it been since we've seen him, anyway? I was wondering where he went!" Stahn laughed. "I haven't seen you since we first went to Zaphias!"

"What can I say? He's been learning to handle other people." Yuri looked as Repede was peacefully eating his food on the table. "Hah, he's getting some manners as well."

"That's…incredible…" Norma blinked in shock. "He doesn't look like a dog that likes listening to orders, though."

"Yeah, it was the same with me." Yuri grinned. "It took a few years for me to grow on him."

"I'd pet him, but…" Stahn sighed. "I don't think he can tolerate me."

"Oh, come on. He knows us, right?" Arche reached her hand out. "He'll love me-"

Repede moved away from Arche's hand, making her confused. The others laughed as Arche tried desperately to at least lay a hand on him. After a few minutes, she retracted her hand, pouted for a few minutes, and then began to eat her dinner.

"Don't worry, Arche. You'll just have to wait for a while and let him get used to you."

"Fine…"

It was then that Kiryll saw Luke leaving the buffet line and that he was looking around for a place to sit. Everyone noticed that Kiryll was staring at him, and then held grins on their faces. Arche and Norma started randomly waving their arms in the air, desperate to catch his attention. After a while, he saw them and quietly went toward them.

"I don't see a seat open…" He looked at the table that they were at.

"Huh? Oh yeah, there's an open seat." Norma and Yuri both pushed Stahn out of his seat.

"See?" Arche pointed. "Right there."

"Guys, it's a rectangular table. There's more than enough room for everyone." Kiryll chuckled. "You can sit next to me."

"Thanks." He sat down next to him.

"I'm guessing that the princess and the servant still aren't in terms with what happened, huh?" Yuri leaned forward.

"What?" Luke looked confused.

"Hey, Kiryll was with you. The news usually spreads between our small group." Stahn stood up before regaining his seat. "So how are they holding up?"

"…it's the same as before. They're not willing to share eye contact with me just yet." He answered. "Hopefully, they'll sort out everything and tell me if I need to butt out of their lives for the rest of their lives or if they can forgive me for something that I wasn't aware of."

"Hey, they're not going to kick you out of their little circle just because you were created artificially!" Norma leaned forward toward him. "Think about it: the only difference between a human and a replica is that the human has genetic parents! What are you to say otherwise?"

"It's not that, Norma. I took someone's life away from him." Luke looked forward. "What if you were replicated and that replica took over your life, forcing you out?"

"I…can understand that, but I wouldn't blame her or my friends." Norma said. "Think about it: you never tell a replica that they're a replica when they're just newly created. Hence, she thinks that she's the real deal. And when she thinks she's the real deal, everyone else sees the same thing. Really, the person that needs to get his head crushed in is the person that cloned me in the first place."

"Norma…thank you."

"Hey, if I remember what I overheard, you and Asch both hold the power of Lorelei, right?" Arche asked, the spoon still in her mouth. "I can understand you, but why does Asch have it?"

"What do you mean?" Luke looked confused.

"Lorelei is extremely powerful. His power can only be used by an extremely powerful heron. If what I heard about Asch is correct, there's absolutely no way that he could handle it, not even when it's a part of it." She looked at Kiryll. "Unless…did he have anything that looked like it could be a filter?"

"Filter? Um…" He leaned forward. "I'm guessing that the sword he was using might be a filter. But I can't be sure…"

It was around that time that Luke looked like he was about to be sick. Kiryll turned his head around and noticed that he was leaning over his plate as if he ate something bad. He looked confused as he took a bite out of his own plate. The food seemed good enough.

"Luke, are you OK?" Stahn asked.

"I don't know…but I don't feel so good…" He answered. "My head hurts…"

"Hey, was Astrid cooking with someone else?" Kiryll asked the group.

"Well, I do remember that she said that she was going to teach Raine something…" Yuri's face fell. "Oh crap."

Kiryll immediately stood up to get a doctor as the others made sure that Luke wasn't going to vomit everything out. When he was at the verge of the door, he heard Norma's panicking voice, screaming that he had just passed out, and it didn't look like it was from food poisoning.

_A Hunter?_ He panicked.

"_**No…it's not the works of a Hunter."**_

He darted his head around to see that a figure was walking right toward him. He was about to bring out his cross when he realized that the figure looked oddly familiar. He had a white robe and red hair…but the scarf around his neck served as a hood that covered his eyes. Instantly, he felt the time stop around him.

"_Lorelei…"_ Kiryll's eyes widened. _"Wait, what are you doing here?"_

"_**You need answers to questions. That's why."**_ He answered. _**"But you have spoken with Altamir, am I correct? I have the same restriction on my memory as well, but I will answer to the best of my ability."**_

"…at least you're offering me this choice." Kiryll turned to him. "Arche said that Asch can't physically handle your powers. Why did you give it to him if you knew this?"

"_**I didn't. The only thing that I was aware of is that I needed to reform my pact with Yulia in order to rebalance the power holding Auldrant steady."**_ Lorelei answered with a steady voice. _**"It's my power that keeps that continent hovering in the sky, separate from the rest of the planet."**_

"Why is that?"

"_**Auldrant is one of the most scientifically advanced continents in the world. If the entire world is to follow in their footsteps, it might end up shifting the balance of mana and aer in this world. In that, the one known as Yulia formed a pact with me in order to separate Auldrant and keep the balance."**_

"How did Asch and Luke fall into this?"

"…_**I fathered Yulia's child, in turn giving birth to House Fabre."**_ Kiryll's eyes almost fell out of his sockets. _**"If I were to give my powers to another family, I would be suppressed by their fonon frequency and perhaps manipulated against my will. If I stayed true to this family…then at least I can interfere if need be."**_

"Even though Asch would be the one to suffer the pain."

"_**Perhaps cloning Asch was the best decision ever made to him. Separating my powers is the only thing that is keeping him alive."**_ Lorelei looked at him, but Kiryll couldn't see his eyes. _**"But I never wanted this type of suffering on the both of them. Please believe me when I say that."**_

"I do, Lorelei. I really do…but I don't know about them. Luke is thinking that his friends are going to abandon him because he isn't Asch."

"_**At the same time, Asch has wandered so far from his path as Luke that he does not want to go back to his original life."**_ Lorelei voiced. _**"I can feel the fear in his mind…he does not wish to return to them."**_

"One name…two people. One that doesn't want to return, and the other that does not feel like he belongs…what's going to happen to them?"

"_**That is up to the others to decide. Luke and Asch's fates are intertwined with the members that trusted both of them…their parents…their friends…and you. Your fate will determine theirs, you know."**_

"What are you going to do?"

"_**All I can do is watch over them…since I have given them this power, I believe that I should at least make sure that they don't suffer under the pressure that I had given them…"**_

"Yeah…oh, one more thing. How in the world did you know that I needed answers? Last time I checked, I never said that I needed them out loud."

"_**Simple, really. They're not the only ones that I'm watching over."**_

Instantly, Lorelei disappeared as time returned its normal flow. Kiryll turned his head toward the dining hall and saw that Luke was regaining consciousness, much to everyone's relief. He ran back inside the room and held his back. He looked up and smiled weakly.

"You're OK, right?" He grinned.

"I'm alive." Luke straightened himself. "I just blanked out for a minute."

"Hey, Luke?"

Everyone looked up to see that Guy was standing right next to their table, a weak smile on his face. Stahn and Arche looked at the both of them before deciding to jump out of their seats so that they can have direct eye contact with each other.

"I've…noticed that our table isn't as lively as before." He gestured to it. "You mind rejoining us?"

Luke's eyes widened so much that Kiryll was expecting them to just fall out of his head. After a few seconds _(mostly of Norma mouthing "GO, THEY WANT YOU!")_, he nodded, taking his plate up with him. Arche grinned, said something that Kiryll didn't catch, but that was only because Arche slapped his back, causing him to tailspin a few feet away from her.

"Oh, right…YOU'RE the one with the phobia." She sat down. "My mistake."

Part of him didn't wish to question it. As Luke rejoined his original friends, the rest of them watched as he sat back down and seemed to join in what seemed to be a normal conversation. They all looked at each other and grinned. At least there was some form of happy ending.

"" "" ""

**Ahahaha…Lorelei…**


	47. Headed Toward the Library!

**We basically have one night to relax your brains. Now that the night is done…TIME TO THROW EVERYONE BACK INTO THE FRENZY!**

"" "" ""

"_**You don't understand, do you?"**_

_He felt himself hovering in midair. Was he asleep? Was he dreaming? And who was this voice that hovered around his mind? He strained himself, but was unable to move or even open his eyes. Or maybe his eyes were open, and all he could see was the darkness?_

"_**You're here for a **__**mission**__**…for a purpose."**_

"_And what purpose is that?"_

"_**To exact my revenge on this world."**_

_Revenge? What revenge? The last time that he was sure, he didn't exactly wake up angry at anything._

"_Revenge? On this world? What are you talking about?"_

"_**Haven't you seen this world? They're filled with hate and war. Those damn humans, thinking that they can exact their superiority on those they deem to be lower than them! Don't you think that now is the time to give them the judgment that they deserve?"**_

_Judgment? No way, whatever this voice was, he was insane. He wouldn't do it._

"_Screw you, whoever you are. I am not going to harm any of these 'humans'. These people have come to accept the other species, and are trying their best to express their opinions to this world. Give them time!"_

"_**I've given more than enough time to those filthy humans. You're the only one that has the power to do so."**_

"_Well, too bad. I'm not doing it."_

"_**I'm not giving you a choice."**_

_Instantly, he felt all the muscles in his body tense as a shock ran through his fingertips. It was running up his arm, through his stomach, over his legs, squeezing his heart…_

"_**You're nothing more than a weapon at my disposal…now obey!"**_

"_I. Won't. Do…It!"_

"_**You will do it. Because that is the fate of all weapons in this world."**_

_Throughout the pain and panic, he felt two hands grab onto his left arm, shaking him left and right. Was it this voice, trying to get him to obey his command? Would he really have to kill every single human being on this planet?_

"_**You're a weapon…nothing more than that."**_

"_No…no…"_

"_**Face it. Your existence now is nothing more than a façade. Kiryll Nightroad…was a name that was never supposed to be."**_

"NO!"

"" "" ""

He darted up in a cold sweat, his ears catching a female scream. Startled, he turned his head and noticed that Norma had collapsed onto the ground, her body shaking rapidly as if she was undergoing a seizure or a heart attack. Hopefully it was the latter. At least he could heal the aftereffects of that.

"Norma?"

"K-Kiryll?" She leaned forward. "Are you OK? You were screaming in your sleep."

_Since when did I fall asleep? I can't remember…_ "Just a bad nightmare. I'm fine."

"Just a bad nightmare? Are you kidding me?" She darted to her feet. "While you were sleeping, your appearance was changing! Look at you!"

He looked confused before he wandered toward the mirror in his room. He had thrown off his jacket, revealing his unbuttoned collar shirt and his Cruxis Crystal. But that wasn't the main problem. His hair was now purple, the exact color that it was when he first arrived at Ad Libitum, and one of his eyes was red.

_Red? It looks like-_

He couldn't say the name. Instantly, his brain started to fill up with the words from his dream. Phrases started to repeat in his head, causing him to fall on his knees. Norma panicked and held his shoulders, shaking him as if he'll snap out of it. Once that didn't work, she started squeezing him.

"_**You're a weapon…the ultimate weapon…"**_

"_What…what am I?"_

"You are Kiryll Nightroad." Norma quickly hugged him. "You're age eighteen, a heron with the Wild Card ability, and a member of Ad Libitum, the best guild on the planet!"

"…_Kiryll…Nightroad…"_

"You have a lot of friends here that care about you. All of them are going to help you get through whatever the hell you're going through right now." Her voice seemed panicked. "Come on, Kiryll! Snap out of it!"

Slowly, the voice seeped out of his mind. With a ragged breath, he turned toward the mirror and watched as his hair and eyes slowly returned to their normal color. His mind suddenly became clear as he turned up toward Norma. Unfortunately, all he could see was her face poking out of his view of her chest…

Yeah, he passed out at that point.

"Wha-? Hey, Kiryll?" She leaned over him. "Oh come on…guess I'm going to have to move you back to your bed."

"" "" ""

After he woke up _(back in his bed, for some reason)_, Kiryll shook his head and took another look at his mirror. Fortunately, his appearance has been retained to his usual silver hair and golden eyes, nothing close to what he looked like last night.

_Last night…_ He was sure as hell not going to think about it.

At least not yet, anyway. His gut told him that he was going to have to sooner or later.

He straightened out his jacket before sliding it on, grabbed his cross, and headed out the bedroom door toward the mission room. After what happened yesterday, he was going to have to resume his search for the prince of Sylvarant. Hopefully, he was still OK.

_Unless…_

His footsteps stopped as a strange thought came to mind. As of right now, no one has any clue as to who or where Sylvarant's prince might be. But hasn't anyone considered looking up anything about his family's _**past**_, which might show a clue as to where the family had fled, if they left at all?

_How in the world could we forget something like that?_ He thought. _Damn, knowing the Vanguard and the Star Order, they already know about this…_

He dashed as quickly as he could toward the mission room.

"" "" ""

"Gah! Damn, Kiryll, slow down!"

He looked up and realized that he had just tackled into Stahn. Apparently, he was choosing the next mission for the four of them to go on. And judging by the looks of the other two in the room, Kiryll was going to be the last one to know about it.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something on my way here." Kiryll moved out of the way. "We need to get to Sylvarant."

"OK, I'm sorry…what kind of last minute revelation did you have in order for us to go?" Arche asked.

"It wasn't a revelation, Arche. I was just…thinking about it."

_THAT'S a revelation…_ Arche sighed. "What were you thinking about?"

"It's about the Sylvarant Dynasty. If they really were as highly advanced as everyone claimed that they were, then there must be some type of documentation on them." Kiryll explained. "If we learn anything about the royal family, we might be able to find out if there's any place that they could've abandoned to."

"Ah, I see! Doing research, huh?" Stahn grinned. "Seems simple enough! OK, to the nearest library!"

"Oh, actually…good timing! Harold came back from one of her missions with a ton of books just last night!" Chat suddenly stood up from the table. "She said that she bought them at a festival, so I think they're pretty important."

"All right. Can you tell us where we can either find the books or Harold?" Yuri looked up.

"Harold's on another mission right now, but the books are in the science lab." She stretched her arms. "They were a heck of a lot to move. Then again, I'll take that over Zelos's whining any day…"

"All right. Thank you." Kiryll nodded. "We'll give you any information that we find."

"Good. We're going to need all we can get."

"" "" ""

Once they finally hit the science lab, they saw that all the books have been neatly stacked up in rows in the newly built shelves _(though one of those shelves looked oddly unbalanced…)_. They went up to the books and realized that they were right: they were documentaries of some sort. Slowly, they took out one book at a time and started to read all of the information. Fortunately, most of the text wasn't Ispanian _(which meant an old version of the modern language)_ and thus was somewhat readable.

"All right, everyone knows the drill." Arche looked up. "Scream if you catch a word that looks like 'Sylvarant' or 'royal family' or whatnot."

After a few seconds, Yuri screamed. It shot chills down everyone's spine, causing everyone to turn around and glare at him.

"What? I had a weird day, and I'm taking everything literally."

"…_Damn you, Yuri Lowell, __**STRAIGHT TO HELL…"**_ Arche leaned over. "What does your book say?"

"It's right here. Looks like a diary entry." Yuri pointed at it. _**[And let it be said, as the seventh moon rose above our blood-stained land, that we are no longer safe within this fortress. In secret we have fled the night sky, his glowing scepter the only path we can take. We will now head to the holy land, the final safe place for my kind…]**_

"OK, what is up with ancient civilizations and vague language?" Stahn complained. "Do these people live their whole lives in context clues or something?"

"No, it just means that each generation is getting dumber and dumber." Yuri grinned. "And you're a living example of that statement."

"…_Damn you, Yuri Lowell, __**STRAIGHT TO HELL…"**_

"What do they mean by the glowing scepter part?" Kiryll leaned over in the book. "Like it was showing them the right path?"

"Maybe it was used for illumination purposes. My guess is that it's talking about using Photon." Arche folded her arms. "In that case, this person was clearly either an elf or a half-elf."

"No, that doesn't make sense!" Stahn said, his book still open. "Look, it says here that _'we fled the night sky'._ In all its vagueness, couldn't that mean like…they **FLEW?"**

"In that case, herons are involved as well." Yuri looked at the rest of the page. "But do herons really need staves to light pathways?"

"Not…necessarily. Sometimes they do that, but that's when they're hiding under to guise of just being humans." Kiryll answered. "So this involves both elves and herons."

"Wait, wait, wait! I got something! It's another page of the diary, I think." Arche grinned. _**[Our prince has been the first to leave our cursed lands. We were blessed with meeting his holiness when we landed onto the holy realm. He was in good spirits, and happy that we have all escaped the war-torn wasteland. However, his proposition for protecting the bloodline has troubled me.]**_

"Protecting the bloodline…?" Kiryll rubbed the back of his head. Did he hear that before?

_**[He proposed that we live separate from each other, so as to prevent massive slaughter. We were not to speak a word to each other until we reunite back on our homelands. He will become an unknown wanderer, while we reside within this place and make a life out of us. It pained us for our own son to be separate from us, but alas this is fate. This is something that we can't avoid. Before he left, he said that he was going to inherit the name of the frozen forests of long since past, and wished that perhaps that he'll see it again…]**_

"Frozen…forests?" Stahn tilted his head. "That just sounds a little disturbing, if you ask me."

"It doesn't have to literally mean frozen forests. He's probably talking about evergreen trees." Yuri looked at him. "They can live in snow-covered wastelands, you know."

"OK, do you guys know any snow-covered wastelands with forests that have interesting names?" Arche leaned forward. "Cause I don't think that they exist anymore."

"…Kanata."

Everyone turned their heads around to see Kiryll's face becoming pale. He slowly turned toward them with a hanging mouth and tried to form words, yet finding himself unable to. Finally, he was able to get enough air in his lungs to state his mind.

"Kanata is the ancient name of the North Pole…" He answered.

"Wait, let me get this straight…" Stahn stood up. "You're telling me right now that you met with this Kanata guy? From god knows how long ago?"

"No way. It's probably just some guy with the same name." Arche said. "Otherwise, you'd be over a thousand years old!"

"That's not possible. Herons can't live that long…" Kiryll held his head. "Unless…"

"_Unless?"_ Stahn leaned forward.

"If what these pages are saying are accurate, then we can conclude that the Sylvarant family has both heron and elf blood." Yuri answered. "At least it can cut our options down. Since even a small drop of elf blood carries the ability to use mana, it's a clear bet that the person we're looking for is either an elf or a half at least."

"Like an elf/heron hybrid?" Arche twisted her hands as if it was mixing something up. "Now that's a mix-up!"

"So the prince could either be a heron or a half-elf." Kiryll said.

"That'll help our search a lot!" Stahn turned to Kiryll before turning back to his book. "But that doesn't even begin to explain Kanata, the prince of a thousand years ago, and his connection to Kiryll. Not to mention that we need to narrow the search a couple of billion more names."

"Well…I have a strange guess, but I can't conclude it until we get more information." He answered him. "We should look for a bit more information."

"Speak of the devil, man! I got something!" Stahn grinned. _**[His power is unparalleled, yet his kind heart makes him an unwanted weapon. The prince is a force that makes him a danger to us all, and yet his abilities are something that we cannot ignore. We must have him.]**_

"Is that a Hunter's diary?" Arche looked at it.

"Looks like it." Stahn answered.

"And he did get hunted down in the end." Kiryll held his head. "Trying to save me…"

"So you are saying that you're over a thousand years old." Stahn looked up.

"That probably can't be it. Being the Wild Card, he probably remembers his past lives as a side effect." Yuri answered, closing the finished book in his hand. "The power does have the effect of digging deep into a person's soul."

"So you're saying that the Wild Card uses a person's past lives as its power?" Arche grinned. "So it IS possible for you to be a thousand years old and be eighteen now. And by the sound of it, the one that changes your gender is most definitely the one that fell in love with Kanata-san ^o^"

"That may be it…but that doesn't explain what Kanata's power is." Kiryll pointed at the line. "Stahn, is there anything else about it?"

"It's probably on the previous page…oh, look at that, I was right!" Stahn grinned. _**[Being a spiritual being, the prince has found the route to his own soul at just the age of five. The rumors state that once he had reached the age of ten, he had found in himself the names that he had gone under hundreds of years before. Many of us have concluded that it had to do with the Cruxis Crystal that he had inherited during the ceremony. Perhaps it's connected somehow…]**_

"The power to find the route into his soul?" Arche leaned in. "Part of me is screaming that it's the vague description for Wild Card."

"It…it probably is." Kiryll stroked his own Cruxis Crystal. "He's talking about the abilities that each Crystal has…"

"So Kanata is an elf…but a heron at the same time. Wow, that's a mind-blower." Stahn slapped his head in a book. "That's probably makes him the strongest being of his time! And you're saying that a group of Hunters beat him down?"

"I…" Kiryll's face had frozen.

"Hey, earth to Kiryll." Yuri snapped his fingers in front of his face. "You alive?"

"Guys, the power of the Wild Card is embedded in a Cruxis Crystal…it's a heron ability." He answered. "This might be his Cruxis Crystal…"

"Hah? But Cruxis Crystals are only set for one specific person, right?" Stahn looked extremely confused.

"Stahn, that's only applied to ordinary Cruxis Crystals. Something with this amount of power can't fade with one generation's time." Arche said. "From what my father said, they only do that because Cruxis Crystal's ability resonate within a certain fonon frequency. The Cruxis Crystal can exist and be used for a few years after a heron dies because it absorbs mana after death and hence is still operable."

"Actually, I think my ability to change appearances can factor into using any type of Cruxis Crystal." Kiryll answered. "Changing my appearance affects my fonon frequency, so…"

"You're saying that your Cruxis Crystal can be Kanata's because your fonon frequency is similar to his." Yuri stated.

"That…seems to be the case." He held his head. "But how in the world did I get it, if this is his?"

"I think it's a Tethe'allan tradition among nobles to pass down Cruxis Crystals in the family." Arche stated. "I think it has something to do with family bloodline, but…"

Everyone froze.

"Kiryll…don't tell me that this is something that you were expecting…" Arche voiced out.

"I…I wasn't, but…it makes sense…" He looked up. "I have the power of the Wild Card, possibly wield his Cruxis Crystal, and I have a similar fonon frequency to Kanata…"

"This is crazy…" Yuri turned to him. "What you're concluding here is something that changes _everything!"_

"What? What are we concluding here?" Stahn obviously didn't get it.

"Stahn…if everything that we're assuming is correct…I might be the lost prince of Sylvarant." Kiryll looked at him. "And Kanata might be my ancestor."

"" "" ""

**So wait, you're in love with your ancestor? EWWWWWWWWWW-I mean…hey, Yoh and Hao fanfiction are good examples.**


	48. Wild Goose Chase :MOON:

**Crazy turn of events! Kiryll, a prince? Oh dear…that throws everything upside down, inside out, and whatever else you can do to torture events and memories and stuff like that!**

"" "" ""

The air around everyone became as tight as ever. Kiryll, in particular, found it very hard to breathe at the sudden realization. That realization_ (to sum it up the best he can)_ was that he might be the prince that everyone was searching for, and that Kanata _(an elf-heron half-breed that he __**MIGHT**__ or __**MIGHT NOT**__ be in love with)_ was in fact his ancestor. By the look of his companions, everyone else had a hard time trying to sort that out as well.

"Dude, I'm sorry. I can't see you as a prince." Stahn sighed. "I can only see you as…well, you."

"Which, by what I can grab from the context, equals _so-not-prince-like."_ Yuri grinned.

"I don't think that's offending. I can't see myself as a prince at all, not less of a king." Kiryll chuckled. "Besides, I'm not saying that I AM him, I'm saying that it's the probable choice as of right now."

"Well, that just throws everything out of context!" Arche sighed. "I mean, everyone's trying to find the prince in order to get to YOU! Now, if they know that-"

"Sh! Not so loud! Not unless you want to tell the whole world about this." Yuri sighed. "We throw a rumor like that around without any evidence, and you'll just be putting him in more danger."

"So just between the four of us." Stahn gestured. "OK, good. Glad that we got that out of the way."

"All right, we got all this information, and led ourselves to this very intriguing conclusion." Yuri looked at Kiryll. "What do you want to do?"

"We should tell Chat about all this." Kiryll answered. "We'll leave out what we concluded."

"Yeah, that's true." Arche stood up. "Send the whole world on a wild goose chase while we protect the real prince. That seems good enough to manipulate a few thousand minds for the time being."

"That's not a bad idea, Arche. So let's go do what we as guild members can do." Yuri stood up. "And for the sake of Sylvarant, let's just hope that your guess is wrong."

"Wha-?" Kiryll darted to his feet. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"" "" ""

The four of them were in a heated debate while they headed back to Chat's mission room. Once they got there, they decided that Yuri was going to relate the information. While he was explaining everything, everyone was satisfied by the fact that he was the one to relate the information. He had awesome vocabulary, nothing close to what they had.

"So the prince could be a heron or a half-elf." Chat nodded. "Well, the kingdom of Sylvarant was rumored to be one of the most powerful empires at their time. That might be why…"

"Yeah. Those guys are spread all around the world, but at least we can look for something specific." Yuri said. "The only problem is that they landed in an area they call the 'Holy Land', but we have no idea what they mean."

"The Holy Land? Hm, I'll get the smart guys to think about that." Chat looked up. "You four are going to be part of the front runners. See if you can find something that relates to what you read."

"We can do that." Stahn saluted. "So, any missions for us?"

"There're enough. Take a look."

Kiryll leaned over into the little orb of information and skimmed through as he would usually do. After a few minutes, he found something that he thought was a little weird: it was a request from a girl named Lilith. That wasn't the weird part, and neither was the part that requested that she be escorted to a place that she was going to name: what was weird was the fact that Stahn's face seemed to be plastered in shock when Kiryll read the name aloud.

"L-Lilith?" He stammered.

"Yeah, that's the girl's name." Arche leaned in. "And she wants to be escorted somewhere? What's her problem?"

"Ugh…I knew that I couldn't avoid her for long, but…" He sighed. "You can take the mission if you want."

"You don't have to participate if you don't want to. No one's forcing you." Kiryll said.

"No, it's fine. I had to confront her sooner or later." Stahn sighed. "Hopefully, Kyle doesn't have to get dragged into this…"

"Oh damn, is it that bad?" Yuri chuckled. "You don't seem to be the type to have a crazy ex on your tail!"

"She's not my ex!"

Kiryll stared at a stressed Stahn before noticing that he was stretching his arms and trying to smile as if something that he did in the past wasn't going to be such a big deal. He turned to Chat, who held the same strange look on her face but ignored the whole situation.

"You're going to be headed toward Lienea if that's what you're going to do. However, I'm going to have to drop off a couple of people for their missions, so you're going to have to be patient."

"I can wait." He turned to Stahn. "Take your time."

"" "" ""

He sighed as he leaned on the railing of the open deck. He never saw Stahn look this worried about anything ever since that day when he learned that Astrid wasn't going to be making dinner _(THAT was a fun day, let's say that)_. What was his connection with this Lilith girl? He closed his eyes and wondered if she really was a crazy ex.

_Odd though…Stahn doesn't seem to be the type to notice girls that way…_ Kiryll sighed. _We'll worry about that later. This mission seems easy enough, so I can at least get my brain to relax for a minute…_

He opened his eyes to stand up, only to realize that Kyle was standing just a few feet away from him, staring at him with a confused look on his face. Kiryll panicked before jumping back, but quickly calmed down. Kyle, on the other hand, jumped back as well.

"Whoa! Sorry, you looked like you were sleeping!" He said.

"Nah, I'm fine. I was just thinking…" Kiryll stood up as snow landed all around him. "What the-? Where are we?"

"We're in Keterburg, or at least that's what I'm told." Kyle said, a grin plastered on his face. "I was gonna warn you about frostbite, but…"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kiryll chuckled. "What brings you out here?"

"I was just going to say good-bye my girl before she leaves on her mission."

"_**Your**_ _**girl?"**_ Kiryll rubbed the back of his head. He didn't seem old enough to be a father.

The door beneath them opened, and they both looked over the railing to see Reala step out of the ship. Kiryll barely noticed that others were leaving the ship _(one of them looking like Jade, in particular)_, but he was too busy noticing that Kyle was waving down to them, calling for Reala's name. She looked at him once, nodded with what looked like to be a smile, and then walked away. Kyle's hand lowered.

"Your…girl?" Kiryll voiced again.

"Yeah. I know she acts a little aloof and distant, but we're actually quite close. Stahn approves of it, so…" Kyle looked at Kiryll's confused face. "What's up with you?"

"…your girl?"

"You know…she's my girlfriend?"

"Oh…_**OHHHHHHHH."**_

Wow, what a dunce moment for Kiryll Nightroad. All he needed now was a studio audience clapping behind him and a drum roll and this scene might as well be set. Then again, a studio audience probably wouldn't be something he wanted.

"You didn't know that's what it meant?" Kyle blinked. "Oh, that's true. You don't know modern lingo!"

"Uh…wh-what are you trying to say here?" Kiryll felt a little offended.

"Oh, nothing. I was just figuring out how to talk around you without making you confused." He responded. "We should talk inside. The change of altitude might kill us."

_Great…_

"" "" ""

"So what's your mission?"

"Just an escort mission. Our client is throwing Stahn into a frenzy, though…wish I knew why."

"Hm?" Kyle leaned over on the desk they sat at. "Who's the client?"

"Um…a woman. Stahn called her Lilith, and then he mentioned that you shouldn't be dragged into this." Kiryll blinked. "Do you know who that is?"

"Oh, you mean onee-san? Yeah, I can imagine onii-san being scared of her!" Kyle laughed. "Then again, she's probably mad at me too!"

"Onee-san? Wait, so Lilith is your older sister?" Kiryll was extremely confused. There were MORE people in the Aileron family?

"Yeah. She's the one that takes care of the house and makes sure that we don't oversleep!" Kyle grinned. "Despite her tight grip on that house, I was able to sneak out perfectly fine!"

_You're bragging about that?_ Kiryll rubbed his forehead. Sad to say this, but he had **HORRIBLE** role models growing up. "Yeah, I can imagine Lilith being mad…"

"Man, poor Stahn…he'll be dealing with onee-san alone…" Kyle turned to Kiryll. "How scared was he?"

"He didn't seem that bad…a little nervous, but nothing life-threatening." Kiryll answered. "Why?"

Kyle didn't reply. He leaned back on his chair, his eyes closed, thinking about something _(or at least that's what Kiryll thought was going on)_. Kiryll sat patiently in his chair, waiting for him to make an answer. With his fine-tuned ears, he noticed that he was mumbling something to himself. He couldn't catch much, pass the words "hero" and "onee-san". Suddenly, he looked up with a grin on his face.

"I can't leave Stahn here to hang!" He answered. "I'll throw myself into the mix, too!"

"Into…the mix?" Kiryll blinked.

"You guys are open for other people to join in, right?" Kyle leaned on the table. "Stahn can't handle her alone, right?"

"Um…how should I know? I never met her." He responded.

"Oh…true." Kyle grinned. "OK, you can come along…hopefully Stahn approves of you."

"No problem. Let me just go get my things."

Kiryll watched as Kyle stood up and dashed off toward his room. After he left, a snap echoed in his brain and a card flew out of his stomach. It held the image of a crescent moon with a face, in a silhouette of a full moon. There were lights that seemed to look like stars, but he wasn't quite sure.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** Kiryll could hardly believe that this was Kyle's deepened voice. It didn't sound like him at all. **"I, THE CRESCENT MOON IN THE DARKENED SKY, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."**

He held the card before pushing it into his stomach. Around that time, he looked up and noticed that Yuri was standing over him, a bag dangling at his side with what he thought he needed. By the angle that he was seeing it, it looked a little confusing.

"Uh…" He looked around, ignoring what just happened. "Are we meeting up here?"

"By the looks of it…yeah." He shrugged. "Oh yeah, by the way…Kyle's coming with us."

"He is? Oh man…hope Stahn doesn't blow up in his face." Yuri shook his head. "I just had a conversation with him. He said that he'll only bring Kyle along once he can get Lilith to calm down."

"Oh…so you know the connection between Stahn and Lilith?"

"He wouldn't let me on with that tidbit. All he's telling me is that she isn't his ex." Yuri answered. "He said that he'll tell us later."

Which translated to _Don't Tell Yuri the Truth._

Around that time, he saw Arche and Stahn heading toward their way with what they were going to bring. Stahn's face seemed to be a bit pale as if he was thinking too hard about something, but had quickly tried to rub it off. The ship landed and the door opened, revealing the forest just a few feet away from Lienea's entrance.

"So…I'm finally home." He answered to himself.

From the corner of his eye, Kiryll saw Kyle sneaking after them a few feet away, hiding under a ragged hood. He grinned as he shook his head before the five of them headed out of the ship onto the grassy forest. The ship flew over their heads as they finally found the entrance of the small village.

"" "" ""

"Whoa…" Yuri looked up. "This is completely different from Zaphias."

"Yeah, it isn't much." Stahn laughed. "But feel free to wander."

"Huh…I have to admit, this has a lot more substance than living in the Lone Valley!" Arche looked around.

Kiryll couldn't find words to say anything. He was too busy smelling the crisp air around the small village. He stepped forward, wandering in front of Stahn, and realized that everyone was staring at him with a strange look on their faces. He couldn't quite blame them, since…well…he is an outsider. However, their looks faded the minute Stahn took the lead.

"Ah, Stahn! You're back!" One of the women remarked.

"Hey, Aunt Maggie." He answered back. "How's the village?"

"Same as always." She smiled. "Are you going to visit Grandpa Thomas and Lilith?"

"Well, it's my mission to, so…" Stahn chuckled.

"Oh, so you join a guild now! That would explain the companions with you!" She laughed. "You should go meet up with the others before she blows a fuse!"

"We're going, don't worry!"

"Hey, uh…before you go…" She looked worried now. "Have you had any contact with Kyle?"

"Kyle?" Stahn seemed in the middle to say something.

"Yeah. He left the village a few months ago, saying that he was looking for you." She sighed. "I swear, that kid…"

"He's fine, don't worry about it!" Stahn grinned. "He'll come around!"

Before anyone could say anything else, Stahn triumphantly paraded deeper into the small village. They all ran to catch up to him, leaving Kiryll and the woman named Maggie alone. Yet before he could consider telling her what happened to Kyle, he noticed a hooded figure headed toward the both of them. He quickly threw off the hood.

"Hey, Aunt Maggie!" He waved.

"Kyle! Oh my goodness, you have great timing!" She had a huge smile on her face. "Stahn was just here, and he's headed toward the house!"

"Thanks for the heads-up, obasan!" Kyle gestured to Kiryll as he threw on the hood. "Come on."

"Hey uh…not to ask, but what's with the hood?"

"For dramatic entrances." Kyle answered. "I'll catch up. Just go find the others!"

_Um…OK._

"" "" ""

**Woohoo…LILITH ENTERS THE PICTURE!**


	49. Mission Debriefing

**Welcome to the village of Lienea, the hometown of Stahn and Kyle Aileron! Now they have to brace themselves for Lilith, their middle sister! How bad could she POSSIBLY be?**

"" "" ""

Kiryll was able to catch up with the group before they started hunting him down. Before anyone began to question him, Stahn found himself staring at a figure standing at the wooden fence a few feet away. Kiryll peeked over his shoulder and saw that she was wearing a pink dress and an apron while keeping her long hair in a ponytail.

_So this is Stahn's sister…_ He blinked. _She looks innocent enough…_

Before he questioned Stahn on what they should be doing, he saw the blond warrior walk up slowly toward her. The others slowly walked in as they watched Stahn reach out and touch her shoulder. When she turned to him, Kiryll noticed the same blue eyes that he saw in Stahn and Kyle. She was definitely his sister.

"Onii-san?" She gasped.

"Hey…imouto-san." Stahn responded, a nervous grin on his face. "I'm home."

"Imouto-san…so they're siblings…" Arche blinked. "They don't seem alike."

"Oh my god, you're actually home!" She grabbed his shoulders with a really mad look on her face. "You will NOT believe this! Kyle's missing too!"

"What, Kyle?" Stahn blinked. "Yeah, I know that, and-"

"WHAAT? You knew that he's missing?" Lilith was panicking even more. "What happened to him? Oh my god…is he dead?"

"Is WHO dead?"

Everyone turned their heads around to see a hooded figure standing just a few feet away from them _(for some odd reason, there was a breeze blowing, making the scene a lot more dramatic)_. Kiryll rolled his eyes and shrugged with a smile as Kyle threw off the robe and smiled at his older sister.

_So that's what he meant by a dramatic entrance…_ He chuckled.

"Kyle, you're OK!" She sobbed. "I was so worried about you!"

"You didn't have to worry about me! I wasn't alone when I left." He answered with a growing grin. "Plus, he wasn't hard to track down."

"Yeah, but still…why didn't you come home and TELL me that you two were OK?" She yelled.

"Because we were working them to the bone." Yuri answered with a grin on his face.

"_Uh, Yuri…?"_ Kyle leaned over to him. _"You should probably stop-"_

"Working them to the BONE?" Lilith froze.

"Yeah…let's just say that their eating habits are the only things that are keeping the meat on their bones-"

Let's just say that this will be the only documented moment where Yuri gets beaten half to death by a woman.

The creepy part was that no one knew that he was being beaten down until a) they saw Lilith holding a random ladle and frying pan, and b) they heard his body crashing a few feet away a few seconds later. Well, we can't say that Kyle didn't warn him, nor did anyone know that Lilith was capable of such violence.

"L-Lilith! He was joking!" Stahn panicked.

"What? He was?" She blinked.

"No, he wasn't. Keep going." Arche answered with a huge grin on her face. Was she calling for more blood?

"He's joking. That's just how he is." Kiryll interfered. "I'm Kiryll Nightroad, a friend of your brother."

"So you're…what, a guild member?" She gasped. "Oh, so you guys are here for my mission posting, right?"

"Uh…right." That took a while to clear up. "And he was with us. The guy you knocked out?"

"Oh, is he? Oh…OK." She turned around. "Get him and meet up at my house. I'll tell you what's going on there."

"" "" ""

For some reason, Kiryll was expecting torture devices in the house. Instead, the small cottage consisted of nothing more than a simple kitchen, dining room and bedroom _(aka nothing out of the ordinary)_. After awakening Yuri out of his "somewhat" coma, they were led into the dining room, where an old man was sitting down. Kyle sat right across from him before anyone had a chance to react.

"We're back, Grandpa!" He stated with a grin.

"We're both back." Stahn added.

"Ah, it's you two! I've been wondering where you've been running off with." The man looked up, catching eye contact with Kiryll. "Are these friends of yours?"

"Yeah. We met up with them while we were travelling." Stahn gestured toward them. "This is Kiryll. The girl is Arche, and the other one is Yuri."

"Oh…how strange." He stood up and looked at Yuri. "You don't look like an Arche to me."

***Ohh~~~! PWNED!***

"Sir? I'm Yuri." He corrected. "That's Arche."

"Oh…is that so?" He turned to Arche. "My apologies."

Kiryll didn't know how to react to that, only taking a seat next to Kyle with a blank look on his face. Everyone followed suit, and almost as if it was on cue, Lilith entered the room with the ladle and the frying pan _(like it was fused to her hands or something)_. She stood next to her sitting grandfather.

"OK, so you're probably wondering where I want you to lead me." She said. "I want to go to Keterburg."

"Keterburg? Oh yeah, I've heard of that place…" Kiryll said. "That's a city on Auldrant."

"Why are we going there?" Yuri asked. "Something that you need to get?"

"Sorta…but that's not the only problem. The Star Order's clogging up most of the pathways there, so I can't even go there if I tried!" Lilith grumbled. "I was wondering if any of you guys had a ride I can take there."

"…seems simple enough. We'll just wait for Ad Libitum to come back." Arche sighed. "I'll call for them."

"Well, we might as well get the fresh air while she's at it." Stahn tapped Kyle's shoulder. "You wanna come with?"

"Of course, onii-san!" Kyle turned to Lilith. "We'll just be outside."

"Sure, _just don't wander too far off."_ Lilith seemed to mutter that under her breath.

"Hey, Kiryll." Yuri looked at him. "You're staying here?"

"I'll join you guys later."

He nodded as he followed the others out of the house. Around that time, Lilith turned toward the brick stove a few feet away, and Kiryll could smell something that reminded him of beef stew. So she was the cook around this place…wonder if she was the cause of the brothers' obsessive eating?

"So…Kiryll, was it?" The grandfather looked at him. "How did you get acquainted with those two?"

"Oh, well…Stahn was working under the guild Ad Libitum when I joined it." He answered. "Kyle joined us soon after."

"So they're both working for a guild…like those other two with you?"

"Yes. The four of us usually do jobs together…" Kiryll noticed that he worded that statement strangely. "Kyle has his own little group, but they're all tough too. And Stahn's protective of him as well."

"They're watching over each other. Hah! I expect that kind of behavior between those two! They're stuck to each other like white on rice!"

"Yeah, I've noticed. I could tell that they were brothers just by the way they were bickering at each other. Though…most of the bickering was because of me…"

"You?" Lilith turned to him. "What did you do?"

"Well, at that time, Stahn was hanging out with Arche and another one of our female companions and Kyle called him a pimp." He laughed a little. "And I had no idea what a pimp was. They were arguing over whether I was born underneath a rock or something."

"That's good. At least the both of them are getting along!" Lilith laughed. "I remember this one time back when we went on a trip to one of the nearby villages...this guy thought that Kyle was Stahn's son! It was really funny."

"Yeah…" Kiryll was too afraid to admit that was what he thought of them as well, until he realized that Stahn was nineteen and Kyle was too old to be his son. Them being brothers was his second choice. "So…is there something important that you needed in Keterburg?"

"Nothing too important…" Lilith continued to stir the stew. "Really."

"It's a small thing, so you may not find it interesting." Her grandfather smiled. "But she's always wanted to see a snow-covered city and walk on the lands of Auldrant."

"Is that so?" Kiryll chuckled. "Let me state that in the small time that I've been in Ad Libitum, I must've touched that place at least twice."

"Are you saying that I should join Ad Libitum?" Lilith looked confused. "I'm not like my brothers, you know."

"I'm just saying that no matter what you do, you'll never tie the both of them to home no matter how much you beg." He answered. "I think there's a saying: **if they don't come to you, go to them** or something like that."

Lilith stayed quiet as she continued to stir the beef stew in front of her. After a few long minutes, she started cleaning around the pot and moving it around to the table like he hadn't said a word. He turned to the grandfather, who gestured that he shouldn't speak another word. Confused, he felt a hand land on his shoulder.

"Ad Libitum is going to be here in about half an hour." Arche stated. "You ready, Lilith?"

"Yeah, I'm ready." Lilith grabbed the same ladle and frying pan she used to beat Yuri over the head. "Let's have something to eat before we go."

"" "" ""

Kiryll stayed with Lilith when the ship flew them to Keterburg. They stood perfectly in the lobby as the ship flew in complete silence over the continents, dropping and picking up fellow guild members. Lilith couldn't help but watch them come and go through the lobby.

"Wow…so many of them…" She blinked.

"Yeah…that's Ad Libitum." Kiryll chuckled. "It takes a while to learn all of their names, but it's not totally impossible."

It was around that time that Lilith turned around and saw that Stahn and Kyle were sleeping on one of the tables _(completely out)_, while Arche started braiding Stahn's hair with Yuri laughing a few feet away from them. Then the ship landed again, and Kiryll watched as Veigue and Cless ran down to the hallway in a panic.

"I think we're in Keterburg." Yuri looked up.

"All right, time to wake up the sleepyheads." Arche shook the both of them. "Hey! Wake up! Come on, we're here!"

While Arche was trying to wake them up, Kiryll was watching as the elevator door opened again and someone else came in with a panicked look. It was then that he realized what was going on: Flynn was holding onto an unconscious and bloody Pascal.

"Do you need help?" Kiryll stepped forward.

"We need to get her conscious first." Flynn said as he tried to catch his breath in a fast trot. "Once she's conscious, we're going to have Mint use her healing artes. Hopefully, we aren't too late."

"I can use one of my Persona right now, if we need to." He started to follow them.

"OK, that's it. They're not waking up." Arche threw Stahn's braid down. "We can ditch them here, if you want."

"No, no, no. We can't do that." Lilith gestured them. "Step aside."

Arche and Yuri watched as Lilith grabbed her ladle and frying pan and started banging them together so loudly that Kiryll could feel the very core of his being shaking rapidly. That alone was able to wake up the blonds, and was even able to get Pascal awake.

"Ah, Pascal!" Flynn grinned as he charged through the hallway. "Great! Don't worry, we're getting help for you!"

"Wow…that was LOUD." Yuri lowered his hands.

"It's one of the only things that can wake them up." Lilith smiled. "I call that technique **'Waking the Dead'**."

_Yeah…waking the dead…_ Kiryll shivered.

"" "" ""

When they landed in Keterburg, Kiryll couldn't help but notice that the place looked like a resort. As the ship flew overhead, he noticed that Kyle was running in front of them with excited eyes. In fact, he seemed so fast that he almost knocked Yuri over.

"Hey, calm down!" He panicked. "What's up with you?"

"Reala had a mission around this area! I'm just wondering if she's still here!" Kyle turned to the group. "I mean, this place is a snowy resort, don't you think?"

"Sure looks like it…" Kiryll looked around.

"Geez dude…why are you so anxious on seeing her now?" Stahn asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Stahn! I thought I told you about it!" He didn't look happy.

"…eh? Wah?" Stahn was taken aback. "You were _**serious?"**_

"What? What about this Reala?" Lilith asked with a stern look on her face.

"Oh, I'm sure that he'll tell you later." Arche got her shoulders. "We should go complete that mission that you wanted to do here."

"Yeah…the mission."

Arche pushed Lilith through the streets, leaving the men alone. Kyle was looking around like an excited child, leaving Stahn to try following him around _(much to everyone's dismay)_. After a while, Kyle paused in his search and pouted to himself.

"Aw man…I guess I missed her." He sighed.

"_OK…good…now we can…relax…"_ Stahn sighed. _"Cause this place…is a…resort, right?"_

"Yeah, that's true." Yuri chuckled. "With casinos and everything."

"Oh yeah, the hot springs!" Kyle jumped. "I forgot about them!"

"_**Bloody hell…we have to run AGAIN?"**_Stahn asked.

"I'll watch over him. Yuri, make sure Stahn doesn't pass out."

"You got it, Captain Kiryll." Yuri chuckled.

"…Captain?"

"What? We're at a beautiful place with a pirate-themed casino. Might as well."

"" "**Kiryll earned the title ****Captain!****" ""**

After a few seconds, Kiryll finally found Kyle standing in place, pouting yet again and muttering something to himself. He couldn't help but laugh at it, catching Kyle off guard and almost making him fall into the snow-covered ground, making him laugh even more.

"Geez! Don't come up behind me like that!" He stood up.

"Sorry. I just…didn't know how funny it is to...see something like that…" Kiryll wiped a tear from his eye. "OK, I'm done. Did you see Reala?"

"No…I guess I missed her. Oh well." He frowned. "This would've been a great first date."

"First date? What do you mean?" Kiryll blinked. "Like you two just hooked up?"

"Yeah. When you were in the Temple of Ice, actually." Kyle sighed. "I thought that if we're both here, we might as well make the most of our time, you know?"

Kiryll chuckled. He never knew that Kyle was one to be considerate on a first date. Before he was able to say anything, an explosion echoed a few feet in front of them. They looked up and saw Astrid's unconscious body fly into the wall across from the explosion. Through the dust, they saw Jade jumping back and casting a Splash spell at a cloud that spat back out Leon.

"Jade! Leon!" Kiryll jumped forward.

Suddenly, the cloud started to scream in a familiar voice. Before Kyle could scream out anything, the cloud spat out a bloodied young girl, who landed in the pure snow right in front of him…

"REALA!"

Kyle leaned over to her and was relieved to see that she was still alive, breathing and conscious. As she slowly rose to a sitting position, Kiryll turned his head and saw a muscular man walking toward them. He sort of looked like Garr, only with more muscles and a meaner look on his face. From behind, he could hear Kyle gasp.

"_You…"_ He muttered.

"Who are you?" Kiryll screamed.

"…I am Barbatos Goetia…better known as Goetia the Forgotten…"

_A God-General?_

"" "" ""

**I wasn't really paying much attention to this chapter, so…**


	50. Six Years To This Day

**Casinos and fighting and generals, oh my! Can Kiryll get his friends out of this before anyone gets killed? And why is Kyle so panicky about it **_**(if he is)**_**?**

"" "" ""

Kiryll was staring at the man that was claiming to hold the title of God General. Around him, he was watching as Leon and Reala were slowly rising to their feet with weapons in hand. Instinctively, he grabbed his cross and pulled out his weapon. Odd enough, it wasn't his scythe but two ring blades, similar to the design on the Fortune tarot card.

"Ah yes, the Wild Card. I've heard about your powers." He grinned. "I will enjoy carving your Cruxis Crystal from your body."

"Not if I have a say in this." He lifted up one of his blades. _**"Kajitani-Eizan!"**_

The blade crashed into the ground, sending Barbatos flipping in the air and landing on his feet. In that time period, Kiryll pulled out Cybele from his soul and casted Mediarama _(while still in midair!)_, healing those that he had damaged. When Kiryll landed, he recalled back his ring blade as he watched Kyle charge toward Barbatos.

"Kyle, wait!" Jade ordered.

"_**Kuushoureppuu!"**_

The attack came just when Barbatos was getting to his feet. It brought up more clouds of dust that was covering all of their sight, but there were no sounds of movement, making everyone wonder if Barbatos was really knocked down by such an attack.

"He's not moving…" Leon held Chal close to him.

"Did he…did he stop him?" Reala was shocked.

"…_you better stay down, you jerk."_ Kyle was shaking. "You **BETTER** stay down, you hear me? You're not going to harm my brother _**ever again!**__**"**_

"Kyle…" Kiryll couldn't help but step back. This was totally not something he was expecting Kyle to say.

Before he could go to confront the young boy, a roar echoed into the air. A blast of energy erupted, throwing Kyle into the wall behind him. Kiryll called for the young man before he heard heavy footsteps walking toward them. It was Barbatos…completely unscathed.

"Your brother, you say…ah, I remember now. He called himself Stahn, right?" He laughed as he pulled up his axe. "The only man ever to escape death from my blade…"

Everyone darted their heads toward Kyle, who was now forcing himself to his feet. There was a strange look in his eyes, past all the anger and determination. It wasn't anything that Kiryll could identify at first. Then, he finally recognized it. It was the fear of a fifteen year old teenager.

No…

A nine-year-old child.

"" "" ""

_**She was standing in front of a small cottage. The air was crisp and cool, perhaps the best kind of air ever to hover in the countryside. As she was enjoying the breeze, she noticed that there was the smell of what seemed to be beef stew. Suddenly, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Turning her head, she saw a man with a wooden sword charging right at her. She quickly blocked it with another wooden sword and threw him off. It was then that she saw his face.**_

_[He looks younger and his hair is shorter, but…it's Stahn.] __**She remarked.**__ [What's going on?]_

_**After a few clashes with his blade, she concluded that it was sword practice. She found herself spinning in the air in ways that she didn't know that she could, but then felt someone grab her leg and drag her down. As she went to stand, the wooden blade forced her down. **_

"_I win again, …!" __**He remarked, the name cutting itself out.**_

"_Just you wait, onii-san. I'll beat you one of these days!"__** She said, pushing the blade out of the way to stand up. **__[Onii-san…wait, is this…am I…?]_

_**Someone called them from inside, and they turned their heads to see a girl standing at the doorway. She looked about eleven, yet the voice sounded like it came from a young mother. Astrid suddenly remembered the first time she met Stahn and when he mentioned that they never had parents.**_

"_Ah, Lilith! You're done with lunch then?" __**Stahn chirped.**_

"_Is that all you see me as? Your personal chef?" __**The girl sounded pretty mad. **__"Why don't you do your own cooking for once?"_

"_Onee-san, onii-san, please don't argue…"__** Astrid heard herself ask.**_

"_Yeah, don't argue. Or else you're getting a small proportion of lunch."_

_**Stahn started arguing with her as they headed into the building. She went up to follow them when she turned to one of the windows of the cottage to flex her muscles. She was wearing a strange outfit (something a country boy would wear), but instead of seeing Kyle's face, she noticed that it was her face alone.**_

_[Why in the world would my identity be hidden if I know who I am?] __**She wondered.**_

_**As she went to join the rest of his family, she heard heavy footsteps from behind her. She darted her head around as she saw a figure walk toward them. It was a muscular man, with long blue hair and an axe by his side. He was looking straight at her.**_

_[Barbatos!] __**She panicked. **__[What is he doing here?]_

_**She felt her knees buckle, the grip on the wooden sword getting tighter and tighter. Barbatos walked closer and closer before he stopped, staring straight into her eyes…into Kyle's eyes. The crisp air suddenly grew tense and almost humid.**_

"_Dymlos…the sword is here, isn't it?"_

"_W-who are you?" __**The sword flew into a battle pose. **__"What are you doing here?"_

"_I'm only here for the Swordian…" __**Barbatos said, his voice echoing into her ears. **__"A boy as weak as you cannot stand to fight me."_

_**She could hear a thousand words running through her head…through Kyle's mind. All of them were screaming for him to go inside and call for the others, but knowing that if he was to do that this man would easily kill him when his back was turned. There was basically only one thing he could do…**_

"_Ah…I see…"__** Barbatos laughed.**_

_**She felt her feet fly in the air, charging straight at him. The wooden blade was quickly cut by his axe, and the next thing she knew, she received an elbow to the face. Her body tumbled a few feet before rolling down to a stop. It was then that she saw Stahn and Lilith charge out of the house and seeing what just happened. It was then that she realized that Stahn was holding onto Dymlos.**_

"_Otouto-san!" __**Lilith screamed.**_

"_Dammit! What the hell did you do you to him?"_

_**Astrid could hardly believe it. Stahn was only thirteen, but he was screaming as if Barbatos almost murdered a son. He charged toward him as a massive duel echoed in the air. It was catching the entire village's attention, as people were coming in from everywhere armed with swords and pitchforks. As she sat up, she saw what no one ever wanted to see: Barbatos's blade cutting right through Stahn's body.**_

"_ONII-SAAAN!"_

_**She flew to her feet (the pain almost nonexistent) as she charged toward Stahn, now heavily bleeding and almost unconscious. Lilith wanted to move, but she was being held back by more villagers. Barbatos levitated over the two boys, the shadow taking out the sun. From the corner of her eye, she noticed that Dymlos was throbbing rapidly.**_

_[Remember, Astrid! Stahn is alive! They get through this!] __**She screamed to herself, the only way to keep herself from going into a raging panic. **__[He's OK, he's OK, he's OK…]_

_["Dammit…"] __**A deep voice echoed next to her. Was it the sword? Was it talking, like Chaltier?**__ ["I need to do something!"]_

_**Before anyone could move, the sun suddenly became brighter, blinding Barbatos. He was thrown back as the light suddenly engulfed him into the air. All they could hear was him screaming curses at it in a language that she couldn't understand. When he was gone, the light descended onto Stahn who was now near death.**_

"_Onii-san!" __**Lilith tore through the men that held her back and charged to his body.**_

_**There were over a thousand different emotions running through her brain. All of them were begging that Stahn live through this. Kyle wasn't ready to lose his brother! Through all of those emotions, she could barely hear her own thoughts, all trying to assure him (or was it herself?) that Stahn is indeed going to live. Meanwhile, the villagers were screaming for a doctor.**_

"_Kyle…? You can hear me…right?"_

"_I can hear you!" __**She answered. Was she screaming, or sobbing?**_

"_You're…you're the man of the house now…protect your sister, OK?" __**He said.**_

"_No! You're not going, onii-san…you're not…"_

_[He's not going to die, he's not going to die, he's not going to die…] __**Astrid found it hard to believe herself. Couldn't she wake up from this yet?**_

_**Stahn smiled at Lilith before his eyes closed. She found herself sobbing, the emotions becoming too much to bear. Suddenly, she saw the light descend over his body. A familiar crashing sound echoed, revealing the image of Cybele. She casted what looked like to be a Mediarama spell (though Kyle didn't seem to know that) before vanishing. At the same time, she heard Lilith gasp.**_

"_He's breathing! He's breathing!"_

_**She felt a wave of relief flow through her body as she turned toward the light. There was a figure inside it, almost looking like a man. She tried to see more, but all she could see was his eyes, glowing a familiar golden tone.**_

_**Almost like…**_

"" "" ""

The sudden crash threw her back into consciousness. Sitting up, she saw that Kyle had crashed into the wall for god knows how many times as Leon and Kiryll abused their swords for maximum power. She was about to grab her naginata when she noticed that Reala was holding it in her place.

"Can you stand?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Astrid took it. "How are they?"

"I'm almost out of mana…we're all almost out of it." Reala stood up. "Kiryll must've used his Persona how many times…his soul is almost-"

"I got it." She held her naginata to her face. "Oh breath of life that dwells in all living creatures, come forth…_**Revitalize!"**_

The circle reached over everyone, as their wounds were quickly healed. They stood up as they continued their assault upon Barbatos, who was chopping them off as if they were nothing at all. He quickly blocked Kyle's blade and threw him off as he fell into another wall.

"If I can't have your brother…I might as well have you…" His blade was in the air. "This is good-bye!"

"_**Hienrenkyaku!"**_

"_**Garougeki!"**_

Two figures charged in out of nowhere, knocking into Barbatos. One of them started slashing at him and threw him up, while the other one jumped into the air and punched him straight into the ground. When the dust settled, they saw that it was Stahn and Yuri.

"Geez, told you that something was going on." Yuri chuckled at Stahn.

"You guys…what took you so long?" Kiryll chuckled.

"Traffic at the supermarket." He answered.

Before they knew it, Barbatos was on his feet. Just the image itself caused Stahn to gasp and nearly drop Dymlos. Astrid could almost feel herself cringe as they made eye contact for the first time in six years. He chuckled underneath his breath.

"Ah…so you are alive…good, good." He grinned. "Now I can finally take care of you…"

"Barbatos…" He backed up, readying his blade. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just aware that the Wild Card was here." Barbatos said. "You're just the added bonus. At least I can finally wipe my slate clean of undone hits…"

He charged toward Stahn, who braced for the attack. Yet when he heard the sound of blade hitting flesh, he realized that he had not been hit. He opened his eyes and almost screamed: his younger brother had taken the hit for him. Reala started screaming as she ran to him.

_Kyle…_ Stahn panicked.

No…that just wasn't going to happen! His brother is not going to die here…not now! Barbatos was going to have to wait: Kyle came first. He turned and was about to run toward him when he saw his axe block his path. Stahn turned his head just as he went for a second assult.

"**DRAMATIC ENTRANCE TIME! **_**Rock Mountain!"**_

He looked up and saw rocks raining down on him. He jumped out of the way as he saw the image of a young girl flying over him on a broomstick with a tremendous grin on her face. As Barbatos raised his axe to counter, he looked down and saw Jade slash at him with his spear, stopping his attack.

"Arche! Now!"

"You got it! _**Cyclone!"**_

"_**Icicle Rain!"**_

"Take that, you crazy God-General freak…whatever the hell you are!" Arche jumped to a standing position on her broom. _**"Tornado Storm!"**_

The combination of the icicles and wind was blowing heavily on Barbatos, making him unable to see anything. When he looked up to move, he saw a crying Lilith and Yuri charging straight at him with their weapons tightly wound around their fingers.

"This is what you get for messing with my family! _**Rainbow Arch!"**_

"You should know better than to rip apart a fifteen year old! You're paying the price right now! _**Genrouzan!"**_

The constant assault threw Barbatos off his feet. When he went to stand, he quickly countered Kiryll's ring blade, only to see Leon charge at him with a simple one-two slash of the blade. Barbatos roared, ready to counterattack, when a light engulfed him.

_Wait…that light! _Astrid's eyes widened.

Before she could say a word, Barbatos was sucked inside. In his place was Elraine the Pure, standing there with a faint smile on her face. She didn't even say anything this time, vanishing into the fading light. Kiryll charged, demanding answers, but only seeing that he was being pushed away by Stahn and Lilith. That's when it hit him.

"Kyle…"

He charged toward him, only to hear Reala screaming for him to regain consciousness. He wasn't stirring at all, much to Stahn's dismay. All around him, he felt the eyes of his companions scanning over what was going on and panicking accordingly.

"No, no, no…he's not going to die here…" Arche leaned over his body. "Reala, do you know CPR?"

As Arche and Reala tried desperately to bring him back to life, Kiryll stood back with shock all over his face. Yet it wasn't because he had just been attacked: it was because he didn't feel anything. It was as if Kyle's death had no effect on his heart. He wasn't crying or anything. Does that mean that he didn't care at all?

_No…no, I...he can't die here…_ "Yuri, back me up."

Before he knew it, he had summoned Sandalphon, a beautiful golden angel with a Templar's robe. Quickly he casted Samarecarm on Kyle's dying body before the strain became too much for him to bear. He collapsed into Yuri's arms, unable to continue.

"OK, Kiryll's healed him!" Arche grinned. "Come on, wake up Kyle!"

"He's not moving!" Lilith panicked. "Maybe he did something wrong?"

"How can you cast a Persona wrong?" Arche leaned over Kyle's mouth. "Maybe he-"

"…GAH!"

"_**GAAAH!"**_

Air quickly flew into Kyle's lungs as Arche threw herself away in a panic. He slowly sat up as he looked at the worried faces of his peers before turning his head around in a panic, obviously thinking about Barbatos. Before he grabbed his sword, he felt Reala's soft touch on his hand.

"He's gone, Kyle. Don't worry about him." She said.

"He's gone…so everyone is OK, then?" Kyle turned around.

"I don't know about Arche there…" Yuri gestured toward the extremely startled Arche spazzing on the ground. "But we're all fine."

"Why the heck are you worrying about everyone? It's you we were worried about!" Stahn leaned over to his brother. "If it hadn't been for Kiryll, you'd be dead by now!"

"Oh…really? Remind me to thank him later." Kyle gave him a huge grin. "I'm fine, really!"

"Kyle, you don't get it! We really thought we lost you!" Lilith panicked.

"But you didn't. So there's nothing to worry about!" He stood up. "All right, we should-"

He stumbled, forcing Reala and Lilith to catch him. Jade turned to Leon, who was staring at the unconscious Kiryll and the near-death victim Kyle _(Arche was excluded from this)_ before making eye contact. They both stared at each other before nodding.

"We should head to the nearest inn." Jade stated. "We're in no condition to move anywhere else."

"Right…" Stahn turned to his brother. "We're not…"

"" "" ""

**Ah, the road to show that you've been growing up. Sometimes you wonder if you're trending on the right path, and sometimes you wonder if you're walking at all.**


	51. Relapse of the Vision

**With Kiryll out of commission and Kyle near out of it, everyone is going to head to the nearest inn to relax before heading back to Ad Libitum. Crazy things have just happened, but it's sad to say that this might be the tip of the iceberg.**

"" "" ""

When then went to the inn, they were quick to get a room for the two victims. Everyone couldn't stay in the room that Kyle and Kiryll were in, so Lilith was chosen to watch over them while everyone else waited patiently in the lobby/restaurant for any new developments.

"Everyone is OK, right?" Reala asked.

"I'll be fine." Arche rubbed the back of her head.

"That's because you barely did anything. We had to work ourselves near death." Leon grumbled.

"But Kiryll made you guys better, right?" Arche turned her head.

"The same way he barely pulled Kyle out of death." Jade stated, folding his legs. "Call it a lucky coincidence."

"But that Barbatos guy…why in the world would he be a God-General, of all things?" Stahn shivered.

"I want to say that it's because of his blood-thirsty ways of battle." Yuri said. "I don't know, but there's something about him that was just calling for all our heads on a stick."

"How can you be sure of something like that?" Reala asked.

"What can I say? I happen to have met someone like that."

"I knew it." Arche sighed. "You, Yuri Lowell, have some MAJOR issues."

While that was going on, Astrid was sitting there with her head aimed straight toward the ground. The strange images that had gone through her mind as she was knocked out were now repeating themselves over and over again. If they were accurate, then she had actually seen into someone's past. Like…_**DEEP**_ into someone's past, and not just a week ago.

"Astrid, are you OK?" Stahn leaned over to her. "You did hit your head pretty badly back there…"

"No, I'm fine." She lied. "I just…I feel a little bad that I was out during the majority of the fighting."

"Well, since Kiryll took over the majority of the fighting, I guess we can forgive you for that small slip-up." Jade stated.

"And look where that landed up." She sighed.

The room descended into more silence as she sank into a pit of regret, the images repeating yet again. After a few minutes, Yuri stood up and headed toward the counter to order small snacks for the wary crowd. Then, Jade turned toward Stahn, who was oddly quiet.

"Well then…are you going to explain to us just what happened back there?" He asked. "Or do we have to guess about it ourselves?"

"Hah…guess I don't have a choice, do I?" Stahn sighed. "I was hoping to wait until Kiryll wakes up, but…"

"Kyle might tell him. If not, he'll find out on his own." Leon answered.

"OK…it started six years ago." He leaned back on his chair. "A week before the incident, I found a sword. It turned out to be Dymlos, but I didn't know that at the time. We just thought that it was a nice sword. After that, I got into an argument with Kyle over who should be the one who wielded it. Both of us were pretty good with swordsmanship, so we came up with a simple plan: whoever won the most matches in a week would be the one to take the sword. Both of us wanted to travel the world, so this sword seemed to be the only way out of the village."

Astrid froze.

"It was around our fourth day of matches. I was winning by a landslide, but Kyle wanted to beat me no matter what. Lilith called us for lunch, so we halted our match just to get a taste of her beef stew. I was demanding for extras out of Kyle's plate when I heard thrashing outside our house. Before I knew it, I grabbed Dymlos and ran out of the building. What I saw was that he was being destroyed by a large man…with a larger axe and blue hair."

"Barbatos." Reala shivered.

"Yes. At least…we didn't know his name at the time. For some reason, he was after Dymlos. At that moment, I didn't really care. He almost killed my brother." Stahn's grip began to get tighter. "Before I knew it, I was using Dymlos and attacking him. All my yelling and screaming got the village's attention, and before I knew it, the whole world seemed to be watching me fighting a man twice my size and perhaps three times my age. I was only thirteen at that time, and here I was fighting someone I knew I couldn't defeat!"

"You knew that you couldn't defeat him…" Leon looked confused. "And yet you fought him."

"If I didn't do anything, then he would've killed Kyle. If anything, I was making sure that the others would be able to run if I died." His voice started to waver. "What happened after…was exactly what happened to Kyle."

Everyone froze as they realized just what he meant. Astrid found herself a step away from breaking down into a mental panic as the images continued to swirl in her head. She hid her hands behind her as they started to clench each other to the point where she couldn't feel them anymore.

"I couldn't feel much of anything, only seeing shapes at that point. But what I did see clearly was that Kyle had broke the trance of shock and had charged to take over what I have done." He sighed. "But before anyone could raise their blades…a light came. It engulfed Barbatos and teleported him away, right in front of us."

"Was it Elraine?" Jade asked.

"I don't know…I couldn't see it that clearly. When he was gone, the pain came back to me. I could've sworn that I was going to die, right then and there." Stahn sighed. "I did what any dying person would do: voice out my final wishes and try to fight off death as long as I could. When I passed out, I thought that was it. Instead, I was in my bed, alive…though not as well as I wanted to be. According to Lilith, the light had saved me."

"The light saved you?" Yuri looked impressed. "With what?"

"She didn't know. She was too busy crying over my body to notice." He answered. "It was around that time that I started hearing Dymlos's voice, too. We all concluded that he was the one who summoned the light."

"Wow…so much has happened to you…" Reala blinked. "I'm sorry…"

"Nah, it's fine. If it hadn't been for that guy, we probably wouldn't be in Ad Libitum by now." Stahn shook his head. "Though…I think I traumatized Kyle…"

"I wouldn't be surprised if you did." Arche sighed. "Though I think he's long forgiven you for that."

"With what happened back then, he's long over the trauma." Jade said.

"…I'll go check up with Lilith."

Before anyone could say anything, Astrid stood up and headed out to the elevator. Everyone stared at each other in confusion before noticing that Leon was following her as well. It was around that time that the snacks that Yuri ordered came in. They all started fighting over her piece, showing that they were able to move on.

"" "" ""

Astrid was trotting as quickly as she could through the hallway before slowly coming to a halt. She knew that the inn that they were in was Room 264, but she had no idea where that room would be. The numbers on this floor didn't seem to match a pattern at all. Where in the world would they be?

"You really should be more conservative of your feelings, Astrid Rosen."

She darted her head around in a panic, only to see that it was only Leon leaning next to the window sill. She slowly calmed down before completely turning toward him. His eyes seemed to pry into her brain, almost as if he was looking for an answer that she alone knew.

"Jade was worried that you might pass out into a state of panic." He stood up completely. "The last thing we need is another unconscious victim we need to care for."

"Sorry, Leon…it's just that…well…I heard Kyle's dying thoughts when he took the blade for Stahn." She looked down. "Most of them were statements of his undying love for Reala, and a few others were for Stahn and Lilith…but there was one in particular that stood out. It was the loudest voice out of all of them…Leon, he was scared that he was going to die."

"That's natural. All living creatures, whether human or animal, holds a fear of death." He answered. "But if my knowledge of the White Witch is accurate, that wasn't what you were cringing at back there."

She stared at Leon, who was giving her the most truth-prying gaze in the world. Or maybe it's just because she's one to be easily intimidated? Her gaze started to wander away from his eyes in a last-ditch effort to calm down, and it couldn't help but notice how majestic Leon looked when bathed in snow-covered moonlight. Unfortunately, that intimidated her even more. Not only that, she remembered the day they first met. _Leon had the ability to read minds…didn't he?_ She couldn't really lie about that.

"…when I was knocked out by Barbatos's attack…I saw something." She answered. "It was exactly the story that Stahn had told us."

"Detail by detail?"

"Well…not exactly. I saw everything through Kyle's eyes, so a few things were a little bit different." She rubbed the back of her head. "But I did see the light that Lilith said healed Stahn."

"Are you saying that…you saw into their past?" Leon looked a little intrigued.

"I don't believe it either. But this happened before…when I went to the Temple of Ice on a rescue mission." Astrid looked up. "I saw them…I saw them being attacked. I knew that they were there."

"That's hard to believe, Astrid." Leon stated.

"I know…but it's true. The fact that Stahn described every single detail that I saw while I was unconscious only confirms it." She said with a serious look on her face.

"And you think confirming all of this with Kyle is going to only further your assumptions?"

"No…I just really had to get out of there."

"…fine. I'll take everything you said with a grain of salt…but I'll still take it." He turned around. "Room 264 is on the third floor, seventh door on your left."

Astrid stared at him in a blank form of shock before heading toward one of the nearby staircases. Meanwhile, Leon watched her before he turned and left, rejoining the others who were waiting for the both of them in the restaurant.

"" "" ""

She made sure to knock on the door before entering the room. When she was allowed to enter, she saw that Lilith was watching a sleeping Kyle _(almost ignorant of Kiryll the next bed over)_. Astrid slowly entered the room, tapping Lilith on the shoulder.

"I'll take over from here." She said. "You should go downstairs and get something to eat."

Lilith slowly nodded before tousling Kyle's hair. He stirred and opened his eyes, looking up to his worried sister. A smile and a chuckle came from her as she rubbed his forehead. After a few minutes of that, she nodded toward Astrid and left the room. It was then that Kyle saw her.

"O-oh, Astrid." Kyle slowly sat up. "Uh…wh-where are we?"

"We're in the Keterburg Hotel. You passed out after Kiryll healed you." She sat down. "Are you OK? Does anything hurt?"

"No…nothing hurts." He answered. "Kiryll healed all the wounds I was inflicted."

"That's good to hear…"

She stared at Kyle, all grown up and mature, and couldn't help but remember what she had observed through his eyes. Could six whole years really allow a young boy to shake off the trauma of nearly losing his brother and become his own man? Before she had the ability to say anything, Kiryll stirred and woke up.

"Oh, Kiryll!" Kyle remarked. "You're awake!"

"Just…barely." His eyes looked around. "Where are we?"

"The Keterburg Hotel. We checked in when you passed out." Astrid answered. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah…just tired…" He chuckled. "I am not going to attempt to sit up."

"Oh…OK." She laughed. "You take as much time as you need."

"W-wait a minute…" Kyle turned to Astrid. "What happened to-?"

"E-everyone's OK, Kyle! Don't worry! Kiryll was able to take care of most of the wounds." She stuttered. "They're all downstairs right now, worried about the both of you."

"Oh…" Kyle sighed. "Hey, Astrid. Are you sure you're OK? You look a little pale."

"D-do I? I guess I'm just tired, that's all." She sighed. She really didn't want to lie to them. "Um…Stahn told us what happened with Barbatos."

Kyle froze before looking down at the sheet in front of him. Astrid instantly felt bad, and looked down at her knees as if she was going to wish all of the pain away. The only person in the dark was Kiryll, who had no idea what she was talking about.

"…I thought that you should know…in case that anyone tries to offer you sympathy." She said.

"…Thank you, Astrid." He nodded, before looking at Kiryll. "You have no idea what we're talking about, do you Kiryll?"

"Um…if it's a taboo topic, I can stay in the dark a little longer-"

"No, it's OK. You got yourself into this, so you should know." Kyle nodded.

Kyle and Astrid stared at each other for a few minutes before allowing Kyle to tell the story. The entire time, Kiryll listened to it without stop. He felt that asking any questions would only make the memory worse. Once he was done, all Kiryll could do was nod.

"At least everyone is OK, both now and back then." He said.

"Yeah, that's true!" Kyle laughed.

"Um…Kyle? About the light…" Astrid looked at him. "Did you…see an image in it? Did it look like Elraine?"

"No…it wasn't her. It felt nicer…calmer…" He froze. "Wait a minute…"

"What? What is it?" Kiryll blinked.

Kyle stared at Astrid, who immediately got what he was talking about _(though she didn't want to show any signs that she matched the visuals together)_. They both turned toward Kiryll, who's starting to get a little worried by the pure silence.

"The light…I saw the image of a man in it…the man looked a little older, but…" Kyle finally said. "It looked a little like you."

Kiryll froze in confusion. _How in the world is that possible?_ Before he could bring up words to question that statement, Kyle darted his head toward an empty corner of the room. They both turned toward the area that he was looking at before turning back to him.

"What?" Astrid blinked.

"N-nothing…I thought I saw something." Kyle sighed. He slowly turned and stood up next to his bed. "Both my legs are intact…can you stand, Kiryll?"

"Um…I think so." He slowly stood up next to him.

"Good, cause I'm getting hungry." He turned to Astrid. "Can you bring us to the others? They must have food with them!"

"Um…OK." She stood up. _This time…we're going to take the elevator._

"" "" ""

**OK, you guys are probably wondering **_**(maybe this entire time…no, most definitely this entire time)**_** on why I made Kyle Stahn's little brother instead of his son. Unlike most of the other characters, I tried to base their relationship on the actual Tales of the World 2 game. It went fine…until I learned that in that game, Stahn is still 19 years old and he and Kyle were not related AT ALL. Not having them related at all is a bit worse than making them brothers, so I figured to go grab the silver medal instead of going at father-son relationships.**

**I thought that I should clear that little bit up.**


	52. Trying to Relax :FOOL:

**So Kiryll and Kyle are all better now! And…actually, let's just stop it there and go on.**

"" "" ""

When they descended into the lobby, they were greeted by bro hugs and tackles by Arche. After that, they were then greeted by Jade, who was holding two plates filled to the brim with food _(why Jade, they didn't bother to explain)_. However, they were too hungry to care and were scarfing down everything a few seconds later.

"Huh-_**HEY!"**_ Stahn looked down at his plate. "Who the hell ate my chocolate cake?"

"Shorry, but you're too shlow!" Kyle grinned, crumbs all over his face.

"_**WHAT?**_ Damn you, Kyle! I paid good gald for that!" He spat.

"Stahn…all of this came from Yuri's wallet." Leon sighed, slowly eating the flan in front of him. "The cake came from Astrid."

"…**STILL**. It was my cake…"

Leon only shook his head as the others were being entertained by Stahn and Kyle arguing over who had access to the next slice. While they were arguing, Leon barely noticed that Astrid was laughing to herself. Yet it wasn't aimed at them: she was looking straight at him.

"What?" He asked.

"I-I'm sorry…I just…I didn't know you liked dessert so much." She said through her chuckles.

"…tch." Leon looked repulsed. "What makes you say that?"

"You're the only one who's eaten two slices of flan." She laughed. "And you looked like you enjoyed it."

Leon darted his head away, a soft blush crossing his face. Unfortunately, it made her laugh even more. Fortunately, the argument between the brothers was getting physical and everyone thought that she was laughing at them. Lilith had to separate the two.

"Hey, how about this?" Yuri pointed to Leon. "Let the smart kid play the judge here."

"Why are you dragging me into this?" He spat.

"Because Jade was fast enough to leave the lobby before you." Arche laughed. "Besides, you're the oldest person in this room."

"Arche, I'm only 16."

***Silence***

"…bullcrap." She stood up. "You have to be at least 18 or something."

"I'm sorry if that disappoints you." He said with a sarcastic tone. "But I'm 16, take it or leave it."

"…holy crap." Her eyes brightened. "That means that I'm OLDER than you!"

"That means that I'm older than him too!" Stahn jumped to his feet. "Cool! That means that I get seniority rights over him!"

"But he completely beats you in the brain cell department." Lilith joked.

"…_Don't rub it in."_

"Huh…wait a minute…" Kiryll looked up. "Would that make him the youngest person in the group?"

"No." Astrid looked at him. "I'm only 15."

"Really? Me too!" Kyle's eyes widened. "Reala, how old are you?"

"I'm…16, I believe."

"Whoa…that makes the both of you the youngest people here." Stahn grinned. "Well, sorry kiddies. I'm 19, meaning that I am the oldest!"

"_I can't believe that we're actually having this conversation."_ Leon sighed.

"Well…I guess." Kiryll turned his head. "Yuri, how old are you?"

"21."

***Silence***

"You don't…look like you're 21."

"All the same reasons why he doesn't look 16." He gestured to Leon.

"…So that would make him the oldest person in the room." Reala stated. "Arche, how old is Jade?"

"He never wanted to tell me his age." She answered. "Though, by my guesses, I think he'd be at least 24…26ish."

"Then he's really old-sounding for a 26 year old." Stahn rolled his eyes. "I mean…he's really intimidating."

"You can say that again…" Kyle sighed, digging into his second slice. "He creeps me out sometimes."

"I know-_**HEY!"**_ Stahn glared at him.

While they were having the second argument of the day, Kiryll noticed that Jade still hasn't returned from wherever he had fled to. Looking around and concluding that everyone is still stuck in the argument, he slowly got up and fled the scene.

"" "" ""

He wandered around the snow-covered grounds and watched as people started to run toward the destruction spot to repair and to question what just happened. Despite what he had thought, not one person had remarked on actually seeing anyone ran through the area. He concluded that it must've been Elraine's doing. After a few minutes of wandering around, he finally realized…yep, he was lost.

_Maybe if I wander some more, I'll find the hotel…_ He shivered. _Hopefully, I don't get attacked again._

Sighing, he looked around the snowy landscape. Turning his head, he noticed that there were two people sitting alone on a park bench, admiring the snowfall and whispering stuff into each other's ear. He blinked, and suddenly felt something smack him in the back of his mind.

**/-/**

"_Are you cold, Kyra?"_

"_Eh? No, no…I'm fine. Though I think it's weird that Lorelei would drag us into a place such as this."_

"_Hm? Why's that?"_

"_He hates the cold…at least, that's what I think."_

_She opened her eyes and looked around. The bench was still there, but the surroundings were completely different. They looked more like a small village (maybe Lienea…or bigger) than the gambling casinos of Keterburg. When she turned her head, she noticed the back of Lorelei staring at a young woman. She had a beautiful figure and looked almost like a priestess._

"_Yulia." Lorelei stated._

"_Lorelei." She bowed to him. "I'm glad that you were able to make it."_

"_How's the princess?" He asked. "I hope that she's doing well."_

"_Princess Kaela is doing well. The crystal that you have granted her is protecting her well." She answered. "Though I can't help but ask this: why would you give her a weapon so powerful?"_

"_Because I know that in her heart, she will not wish to use it." He answered. "I have complete faith in Kaela. She is the beacon of peace on this planet, and as a princess will have many enemies. This is only but a small token of my protection for her."_

"_I see…yes, protecting the princess is something we must do as members of the Order." Yulia looked at Kyra. "Oh? Who's your companion?"_

"_Ah, that's right. This is the first time you've met them." Lorelei turned to them. "This is Kyra, my escort. The elf next to her is Kanata, my companion."_

"_An elf? My goodness." She looked at him. "I've never seen an elf before."_

"_Heh…I'm sorry, priestess Yulia…" Kanata lifted up his arms. "There isn't much to see here."_

"_No, no, no…elves are beautiful, delicate creatures." Yulia smiled. "It's just that…I've never seen them outside of their forest landscapes, much less live with humans."_

"_What can I say? I happen to be interested in humans." He placed an arm around Kyra._

"_I see…well then, I guess that is acceptable." Yulia turned around. "Well then, we should head off to Daath now."_

"_Of course, Yulia."_

**/-/**

Kiryll blinked. The couple that he had been observing was long gone, replaced only by the mountain of snow that was on the bench. He turned his head around and didn't seem to notice anything next to people trying to repair the damage that was inflicted on the town. Unfortunately, Jade wasn't one of them.

"There you are."

He turned his head around and saw that Yuri was walking toward him. He was sweating heavily, making him wonder just how long he was running around looking for him. Then another strange thought crossed his mind.

"Oh…Yuri." He stared at his chest. "You're not cold?"

"Nah…running around has a way of repulsing the cold." Yuri chuckled. "Jade just came back, so I went out looking for you."

"Oh, Jade's back? That's good to hear." Kiryll turned to him. "So…are we staying the night?"

"I guess we are. We wasted our money on an inn room, so I guess we can pile our money and pay for others." He answered. "You're going to have to ask the others, though."

"I can do that."

"" "" ""

After he returned, everyone was actually psyched to stay the night at the hotel. From what Kiryll later gathered up, it was because they all wanted access to the spa _(which was only reserved for inn guests and people who can pay the extra…what, 2800 gald for non-guests?)_. The minute he said that he was going to stay, Arche and Kyle both dashed off toward the spa.

_That was…quick._

Kiryll shrugged before following the others into the spa. When he got there, he found a suit that he could rent for the night. It wasn't much: just loose shorts and a swimsuit jacket that he can zip up. However, he gave up zipping it up and just let it dangle out. He stepped out of the changing room and headed over to the spa, where he took notice of Yuri. He was wearing a tank top and yellow pants.

"You look nice." It was all he can say.

"So do you." He responded. "Did you rent that?"

"Yeah…but when the girl at the counter saw me, she said that I can have it." Kiryll blinked. "Is it natural for people to hand out free suits like that?"

"No, I don't think so."

It was then that they heard scuffling and a bit of yelling from behind Kiryll. They turned around and saw Kyle happily walking in front of an arguing Stahn and Leon _(well…more like Stahn pushing Leon up the stairs)._ Kyle was wearing an ordinary red diver's swimsuit, while Stahn was wearing swimming trunks and a snorkeling device. Leon, on the other hand, was wearing nothing more than swim trunks and a towel around his neck.

"This is so cool! I've never been in a spa before!" Kyle looked around. "It's such a relief…so much different than the snow outside!"

"I know! This place is a blast!" Stahn turned to Leon. "Come on, Leon! Enjoy it here!"

"No, I will not! This is a waste of time…" Leon grumbled.

"Aw, is the girl too shy of showing his body to the world?" Yuri chuckled.

Leon grumbled some really vulgar words under his breath that I will not repeat to you now. Suddenly, he was attacked from behind Arche, who was wearing a pink bikini and anklets that seem to resemble fluffy white wings. She was pried off by Lilith, who was wearing a white swimming suit with sunglasses in her hair.

"Do you really like jumping on people?" She asked.

"Aw, come on! Stahn doesn't mind-" Arche blinked. "Oh, it was Leon? Geez, no wonder he was stiff."

"Then don't jump on me!" Leon grumbled.

"Geez, you don't have to be so mad…" She spun him around. **"****WOOOOW**…nice abs!"

"Would you _please-"_

"Ah, it's Reala-chan!"

Kiryll looked up from the small clashing and saw that Reala and Astrid were walking toward them, Astrid just as nervous and shy as Leon. Reala was wearing a simple pink bathing suit with white frills on her arms, while Astrid was wearing a green bathing suit with stars on the front. However, Kiryll barely saw it, since she was trying to hide herself with a towel.

"You look nice in that, Astrid." Reala laughed. "You don't have to hide yourself."

"I-I know, but…"

She looked up and saw the guys that were staring at her. Yet her gaze could NOT help but fall onto the 16 year old male who was squeezing the towel around his neck in any desperate attempt to get the hell out of the area when the coast is clear.

The next second had her head underwater.

"Hey, uh…speaking of which…" Lilith looked around as Kyle and Reala dragged Astrid's head out of the spa water. "Where's Jade?"

"What? I'm right here?"

Everyone turned their heads to see Jade walking toward them. He was wearing bath slippers and a robe, holding the same relaxed face that he always seems to be wearing when he's minding his own business when butting in others.

"Why…the hell…" Yuri blinked. "Are you wearing THAT?"

"What? You guys were taking too long, so I enjoyed the spa before you. Now if you'll excuse me…I'll go to the restaurant again."

Everyone watched as Jade walked away from them with a small snicker lingering in the air. After a few minutes, they sighed and decided to mind their own business. They learned that the girls and boys were separated in the spa _(so poor Kyle can't spend time alone with his Reala-chan, Arche remarked)_. Five seconds later, Kyle was jumping all over the place while Yuri was trying to keep Leon from bolting out of there. Kiryll just relaxed on the loungers that were there.

"Hey, you're up for a drink?"

Kiryll looked up from where he was lounging and saw that Stahn was holding two drinks, one in particular handed out straight to him. He took it and sipped a bit as Stahn collapsed into the next lounger. He leaned back and sighed one big bag of relief.

"This…is the LIFE."

"I know…makes you wish that you can stay here forever…" Kiryll sighed.

"I know…right? All the tension just…ah, I don't care! Free food!"

Kiryll laughed at his statement when he suddenly noticed something: there was a huge scar across Stahn's chest. Stahn noticed that he was staring at him, and then laughed quietly as he rubbed the middle of his chest. It was actually over his heart.

"Yep, this is what he did to me." He sighed. "I'm shocked that I'm still alive, right now…"

"Stahn…"

"Hey, let bygones be bygones. I'm alive, I'm breathing, I can still protect my family." He chuckled. "I can still protect you."

"Me?" Kiryll laughed. "Where's this coming from?"

"Common knowledge. Come on, man: you have no memory of your past, you're possible older than all of us COMBINED, and you got the world's most powerful leaders hunting you down like you're an object." Stahn stated. "On top of that, you might be the future king of Sylvarant."

"Yeah, I know that…but-"

"There's way too much on your shoulders right now. Everyone knows that, and they want to help you in whatever way they can." He looked up at the glass ceiling.

"I know that too…but this is something that only I can do." Kiryll sighed. "If you were to get into this, you're turning your back to the world…and you'll probably end up a lot worse than six years ago…"

"Quite frankly, I don't give a damn. I don't think anyone does either." Stahn laughed. "Most of us are in this just for the hell of it."

"Even your brother?"

"Especially my brother." Stahn lifted his drink. "Cheers. To kicking the hell out of your Hunters!"

Kiryll nodded as he toasted with him. Suddenly, he heard a crack from the back of his mind and the image of the Fool Arcana appearing before his eyes. He also thought that he was glowing too, but he didn't seem to notice it, so he ignored the thought.

"**I AM THOU, AND THOU ART I. I, THE MAN THAT STANDS IN THE CROSSROADS, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND. AND WHEN THE TIME COMES…I WILL GET STRONGER, SO THAT YOU WILL FIND THE TRUTH."**

Before Kiryll could question what he meant by the truth, the card vanished and he felt himself getting stronger. The muscles in his back began to tense, making him wonder if it was an indication that Stahn's feather was getting larger from the power. When he blinked, he heard Stahn laughing.

"Hey, Kiryll…can I ask you a question?" Stahn looked at him. "On the off chance that you are prince of Sylvarant and you become king, can I be in your army?"

"Oh, no problem. I'll be more than happy to." Kiryll stated in his best princely voice.

"Sweet!" He grinned. "How about making me your second-in-command?"

"Uh, no."

"" "" ""

**Oooh, burned XD**


	53. Gaining a Brother :MOON:

**So everyone is perfectly fine from Barbatos's attack. Now they're going to hang out in the Keterburg Hotell for the night before hitting back into the guild business. Seems like a nice way to vent out everything, right? Hope so.**

"" "" ""

Once everyone was done with the spa _(more like pried out of…Kyle)_, they headed over to the hotel rooms. Kyle and Kiryll already had one for themselves, so the others had to decide on the sleeping arrangements. For some reason, no one wanted to agree with each other.

"OK, let's just lay out the list of people that we have." Kiryll lifted his fingers. "For the guys we have Stahn, Yuri, Jade and Leon. For the girls we have Astrid, Lilith, Reala and Arche."

"For the last time, couldn't we just let the girls and guys have their own rooms?" Kyle sighed. "It makes more sense."

"I wish…but I have to share a room with Stahn." Lilith folded her arms. "Otherwise, he'll never wake up."

"Yeah, but using that arrangement means that we're going to have another guy share a room with a girl." Kiryll looked up. "Anyone fine with that?"

"I don't care." Yuri shrugged. "Set me up with whoever."

"I don't care either." Arche grinned at Yuri. "So we're sharing the room then?"

"Sure."

Worst mistake he ever made.

Nonetheless, Yuri had got himself into this. So Arche and Yuri were sharing the next room. Jade and Leon was going to be next door _(in case Arche did something…Arche-like)_, while Reala and Astrid held the final room. At least this time, people can settle down and SLEEP.

"" "" ""

Or not.

Once everyone was down for the night, Kiryll found himself unable to sleep. As far as he was concerned, the Vanguard were filled with idiots and they're just a secondary threat _(a thought that he knew was dangerous to make, but had it nonetheless)_. What he found himself worried about were the God-Generals. Each and every one of them was dangerous when they're alone, all powerful in their own unique way. What was weirder _(at least in his own opinion)_ was that out of all of them, only six God-Generals actually held and form of rankings.

Would that actually mean that…Asch, the man he bumped into in the Temple of Ice…was stronger than Barbatos?

That thought alone caused him to jump upright in his bed. If that statement was actually _**TRUE**_, then that would mean that he avoided one hell of a bloodshed when they bumped into each other. And Asch had all the reasons to do so, _**especially **_the fact that his replica was with them. Hell, that's why he's called 'the **BLOODY**', right?

_Crap…guess I won't be able to sleep tonight…_

He turned his head toward Kyle, who was sleeping peacefully in his bed _(which contradicted the constant snoring that he had to endure when he was sleeping on the ship…or maybe Stahn was that loud)_ and sighed, jealous of his ability to sleep through anything. Kiryll leaned back onto his bed and tried not to think about the God-Generals too much. What ended up happening was that he started thinking about his past. From what he could recall, he was under the guise of a girl named Kyra, had a companion named Kanata _(who might be his ancestor)_, was the escort of Lorelei, and apparently was the companion of a priestess named Yulia. They were going around spreading "the word", whatever that was.

_Maybe he was talking about the Seventh Fonon?_ He rubbed his forehead. _Lorelei is the incarnate of it, now that I recall it…_

He turned his head and almost got the shock of his life, for standing in the corner of the room _(like a glowing statue, he may add)_ was his Persona Sandalphon. At the same time, he heard soft groans coming from next to him. Kiryll turned his head to see that Kyle was squirming a bit in his bed like he was having a nightmare. What caught his interest was that he was laying facedown, his face shoved in his pillow.

"_Whoa…not on my watch."_

Without even thinking about it, Kiryll jumped out of his bed and gently rolled him onto his back. Not long after, the squirming stopped and Kyle stopped panicking. Kiryll was about to return back to his own bed when he saw Kyle's eyes open and they caught eye contact. What was even more startling was that he screamed when they did.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know it was you!" Kyle jumped.

"Um…I'm sorry?" Kiryll blinked, hoping that his heart didn't jump out of his ribcage. "You just looked like you were suffocating, that's all."

"Was I? Huh…that would explain why I wasn't able to breathe…" He rubbed the back of his head. "You startled me, Kiryll. I never knew that your eyes glowed in the moonlight!"

Wait, _**what?**_

Startled, Kiryll instantly turned toward the mirror in the room. He was actually surprised at what Kyle said: his eyes were glowing, similar to a cat's. _Well, that was a strange ability._ When he turned back to Kyle, he barely noticed that Sandalphon was gone, and all that was left was a grinning blond boy.

"Wow…those glowing eyes." His eyes almost looked like they were glowing themselves. "I knew it! You really are a hero!"

"Uh…what?" Sad to say, it was the only thing able to come out of his mouth.

"All heroes have their own physical perk, you know. Come to think of it, you're the perfect hero!" Kyle stood up in his bed _(apparently he's just as restless as Kiryll)_. "You have heron blood, the most awesome weapon known to man, all while holding a mysterious past that even you don't know! Those are the trademarks of the extremely powerful heroes!"

"Well…hate to break it off to you, but in those standards, people with mysterious pasts end up finding out something they don't want to know." Kiryll grinned and leaned over. "Who knows? I just might end up being the embodiment of evil."

"I don't think that you're evil." Kyle laughed. "You're too oblivious to be evil."

"Right…all of this could be a guise, you know." Kiryll gestured toward his entire body. "I might be the best actor known to man. Blink now and you'll see me with a completely different look and voice."

"Ohh…REALLY? That's so cool!" Kyle leaned forward. "You can do that?"

Oh, nice _**going**_ Kiryll Nightroad. Here you are trying to scare the poor fifteen-year-old, and now he wants to see that new addition to "Nightroad's Ever-Expanding List of Odd Mutant Powers". _**Note to self**_: next time you try scaring him, try using the boogyman and a hyperactive Arche with a steel broom. _Quick Kiryll…lie out of this!_

"Wait a minute…onii-san said that there was an incident where he thought he saw his clone on the sihp." Kyle grinned again. "That was actually you, wasn't it?"

_Oh CRAP._ "Wha-what makes you say that?"

"You CAN do that, can you? Hey, turn into someone right now!" He slapped his hands together. "Wait…turn into Leon!"

Kiryll was about to object when a strange thought crossed his mind. Leon was secretly Altamir, running around in a human guise, after all. If he was able to copy the human guise of a member of the Pentagram, it would mean that he can switch places with them when the time came for it. _In the end, this is just for their protection…right?_ Secretly though…he wanted to be Leon for half a second. He closed his eyes for a minute and imagined Leon in his mind in the same pattern as before. Suddenly, he heard Kyle gasp, allowing him to open his eyes. And _**lo and behold…**_

"Wow, you really are Leon!" He gasped.

"Yeah…I guess I am." Kiryll raised a hand to his lips. He really was Leon, right down to the voice. _OK, __**NOW**__ you're just showing off._

"Wow…that's really cool, Kiryll!" Kyle was now captivated in Kiryll's new appearance. Was this kind of behavior…_normal?_ "Oh, say something cool!"

"Hm…" He suddenly posed, with his hand in the flock of hair over his eyes. "My name is Leon Magnus, the strongest member of Ad Libitum…" He flipped the hair away. _"And I like Pocky."_

That statement alone made Kyle go into jumps of laughter. Suddenly, the door swung open, revealing a rather peeved Stahn. He was about to say something when he saw 'Leon' give him an evil grin _(coupled with the glowing eyes, nonetheless)_. What happened after was that the door slammed shut and there were screams of "DEMON!" echoing in the hallway. Taking the hint, Kiryll immediately changed back to normal.

"That would make it…the second time I've tricked him?" Kiryll chuckled. "Though I'm going to completely lose any respect I have from Leon…"

"I don't care. That was really funny!" Kyle laughed. "Ow, ow…my stomach!"

As Kyle continued on his bits of laughter, Kiyrll heard loud talking through the other side of the door, and before he knew it, Stahn reopened the door with Leon and Lilith. They were looking straight into Kiryll's eyes, and the two boys were trying their best not to laugh.

"Hey…I could've SWORN that there was a demon clone here!" Stahn looked around.

"You're half awake, Stahn." Lilith grumbled. "Let it go. Go back to sleep."

As Lilith dragged Stahn back to his room, Leon gave Kiryll a look that said _"you are NOT funny, you know that?"_ before leaving. Once they were long gone, both of them started erupting into laughter. A few seconds later, they shushed each other so that they won't wake up anyone else.

"That was really good, onii-san!"

"Ha ha…wait, what?" Kiryll looked startled, a grin stuck on his face to notice any change.

"Yeah, onii-san. You don't have a family, right?" Kyle asked, unable to stop smling.

"Um…not that I know of." He found it impossible for him to take the smile off his face. "Why?"

"Then you can be part of mine!" Kyle proposed. "I mean, you don't have to change your name or anything, but…I thought it must be lonely for you not to have anyone to call a family, right?"

Kiryll could not believe his ears. Did Kyle suddenly mature ten years in the last five seconds? Then again, what he did say made some form of sense: he didn't really have anyone to call a family. At the same time, another thought crossed his mind.

"Kyle…I already have a family." He leaned over at the side of his bed. "It's every single person in Ad Libitum. All of them are my brothers and sisters."

"Ad Libitum is your family?"

"Yeah. Just as how Ad Libitum is yours as well. We're just one big…" He paused. "Dysfunctional family."

"…oh, that's true!" Kyle smiled. "Then I can call you onii-san?"

"Sure." Kiryll smiled. "Call me whatever you want."

He grinned again, giving Kiryll a warm feeling in his stomach. He actually liked the idea of having a younger brother. Suddenly, he heard a crack in his mind and the image of the Moon Arcana card appeared with it. What was weirder was that Sandalphon was hovering right behind the card.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I. I, THE CRESCENT MOON IN THE DARKENED SKY, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND. AND WHEN THE TIME COMES…I WILL GET STRONGER, SO THAT YOU WILL FIND THE TRUTH."**

The card slowly vanished in his mind, as well as the image of Sandalphon. Suddenly, Kyle darted his head and looked back at the empty corner of the room. Kiryll turned and stared at the empty corner, letting a few seconds pass before Kyle leaned back.

"Geez, I wonder if Barbatos did something to me…" He sighed. "I keep getting that weird feeling that I'm being watched."

"It's probably nothing…hopefully." Kiryll tousled Kyle's hair. "Get some sleep, onii-chan. You're going to need it."

"Right."

"" "" ""

**And that is the end of that chapter…feels like a filler more than anything else :P**


	54. Sacred Pentagram: Galadriel :JUDGEMENT:

**With the end of their involvement in Keterburg, Kiryll and his companions returned to the ship Ad Libitum by the beginning of the next morning. It's time to go back into the depths of reality and fight the monsters of your past from within.**

"" "" ""

After sleeping in an inn, it felt weird for Kiryll to be back on a ship. Everyone had basically separated and went on their own business, leaving him alone to wander. Fortunately, wandering around allowed Kiryll to let the thought of having a brother sink in. Kyle was a good-natured kid, possibly the most mature out of the Aileron family.

Wait. Would having Kyle as a brother mean that he's related to Stahn now?

He shivered. He didn't know why.

"Hey."

Kiryll jumped before turning around. Standing just a few feet away from him was none other than Kratos himself, his gaze seemingly driving itself into his brain. A thousand questions began flipping through his mind, leaving poor Kiryll to wonder just which one to ask first.

"S-since when did you join Ad Libitum?" He finally remarked.

"Ever since the world started searching for Sylvarant's heir." He answered as if Kiryll should've known that. "Though I have to admit: I wasn't expecting to meet you here."

"Wasn't…expecting me here?" Kiryll looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"You're still not strong enough to hold back your other self, are you?" Kratos stood up off the wall. "I figured that you were smart enough to avoid human contact until you can hold it back."

_His other self…_ Kiryll's mind sank back to when he was attacked by Sheena and Chloe. The time when Guede came in out of nowhere and retook his body, attacking Yuri. Then beforehand, with someone else taking over his body and attacking everyone.

"Wait…" Kiryll blinked. "How would you know something like that?"

"That shouldn't be a cause for concern." He answered. "If you stay any longer, you're only endangering everyone else on this ship."

"…you're trying to kick me off this ship?"

"I'm only saying the truth. Your other self is a dangerous threat. No one on this ship is physically capable of pushing it back."

"I've been able to hold it back perfectly fine, thank you very much." Kiryll spat. "And there hasn't been any relapse, in case you're wondering."

"That's only what it wants you to believe. Have you ever thought that whatever it was is only giving you a warning of what's to come-?"

"That's enough, Kratos."

Both of them turned their heads to see Leon staring back at them. Kiryll was about to say something when he realized that he had his wings out: _all six of them._ Panicking, he turned back to Kratos, and lo and behold: _he had six wings as well._ There could only be one explanation for this…

"So…Altamir is on this ship as well, then?"

"Glad to see that you've joined us…Galadriel."

Kiryll froze again. This time, his thinking stopped as well. Once his mind was able to work again, everything sank into place. He was now surrounded by two members of the Sacred Pentagram…apparently all because of his other form. Whatever that's supposed to mean.

"So…you're…"

"Your presence explains why he hasn't gone insane yet." Kratos said, the straight face still on him.

"I've granted him his power, Kratos. The least I can do is make sure that he doesn't pose a threat to the others." Leon answered. "You obviously see what I mean."

"The power of the Wild Card…yes, I know that. Yet this is the first time that I've seen a Wild Card that's almost as strong as you are." He countered. "The other self must be a representation of your inner feelings?"

"Inner…feelings?" Kiryll rubbed the back of his head. "Against what?"

"Everything in particular. You're still a being on this planet, so there must be something that you're hiding from the world and refusing to let to light."

"…no, not that I know of." He lowered his hand. "If I do get emotional, I usually let it out…"

"Through the other self…you have no idea how the power of the Wild Card works, do you?" Kratos turned around. "Meet me in the coliseum when you want to know."

With that note, Kratos turned around and walked away. Once he was out of sight, Kiryll turned toward Leon, who had dismissed his wings. He was giving him a look that seemed to say _"I really don't care what you do now"._ Then again, it might've been saying _"I have no means to forgive you for what the hell you did last night."_

He left after Kratos.

"" "" ""

"Glad to see that you took up my offer."

Kiryll cautiously entered, his hand holding a tight grip on his cross. Kratos twitched his finger, and out of instinct Kiryll pulled of his cross and formed two smaller, golden swords. At the same time, he saw that his summoning had actually blocked Kratos's attack. Just…barely, though.

"Not bad, Kiryll Nightroad. So you do have some instincts in you."

"What can I say? I have a reputation to uphold."

They both flew backward before going into a heated one-on-one match. There were no artes involved, and even if he had them, Kiryll knew that he was seriously outmatched. There was only one thing he could do…hopefully, it would work. He transformed the swords into one katana before lifting his hand in the air.

"Kin-Ki! _**Gigantic Fist!"**_

The card shattered, forming the image of a golden oni. At the same time, he saw the image of Emil floating from behind his mind. He watched as Kin-Ki crashed his fists into the ground where Kratos was, creating a crater from where the fists touched. Kiryll landed as Kin-Ki vanished with the dust. And where the dust had left…

_What the heck?_ He freaked.

"Not bad. I see that you have found the Chariot Link. However, you haven't even begun to use your true powers."

Kratos tore through the dust and started his counter assault. The blows were getting harder and harder, almost as if Kratos was here to kill _(thank goodness that this was the coliseum, where it was impossible to die…somehow)_. As the battle continued, he kept summoning as many Persona as he could, all of them being pushed away by Kratos. _Is this how strong the Pentagram is?_

"You keep using all these Personae, all of these facades…don't you even know what your true Persona is?"

"My true-?"

Kratos slashed his back, causing him to tumble through to the other side of the coliseum. The blow in itself caused the air to escape from his lungs and made him nearly lose consciousness. As he slowly sat up, he saw Kratos with a blade to his neck.

"Everyone in the world has a Persona that they hide behind…their main mask." He said. "You, on the other hand, hide behind a multitude of masks. What I want to know…is which one of these masks hide your true face?"

"My…true face?" Kiryll grunted.

"Think back to the other herons in this ship. Every one of their Persona are the masks hiding their true soul. The Wild Card holds masks that hide every aspect of a being." The blade went tighter to his neck. "What is unique in your case…is that despite not knowing your true Persona, you have such a control over your power. Is it because of Altamir?"

"…_**no. It's not because of him. It's all me."**_

A blast of energy threw Kratos back. He watched as Kiryll rose to his feet, the sword transforming into a lyre. When they made eye contact, Kratos could hardly believe his eyes: they were no longer a sparkling gold, but the most brilliant white that he has ever seen. His entire wardrobe also began to erupt a sheen of white, giving him a godly feeling.

"I see now…" Kratos stared at him. "You…the Persona at which I speak to…who are you?"

"_**You know who I am, Galadriel…don't you?"**_

"I just wanted to make sure…" His gaze narrowed. "Since when did you allow yourself to be at the whims of a mortal?"

"_**Have you seen what the world is doing to him? They're forcing him to run wherever he goes. His power is that immense."**_

"Are you sure it's not because of your presence?"

"_**My presence is the only reason why Guede is kept at bay. Kiryll is that powerful."**_

"He is? Don't tell me he's just as powerful as us."

"_**He has the potential to be. Right now, he's only as strong as a skilled heron, not much of a threat to you. His true powers are coming from an outside source."**_

"An outside source…like from the World Tree?"

"_**No, it's not the World Tree. Not directly, but…"**_

"So it might be part of the Pentagram?"

"_**I don't know. I have a feeling that it might be…"**_

"That's why you're here then…Messiah, ruler of the Judgment Arcana."

"_**I'm only as strong as Kiryll's body can allow. I only have a quarter of my power, and that alone is destroying this vessel."**_

"I see…well then, this explains why his emotions are suppressed." Kratos nodded. "If you wish to return control to Kiryll, then be my guest."

The being stared into Kratos's eyes before vanishing, returning Kiryll's body to normal. Kratos waited until he collapsed onto his knees before sheathing his sword and walking up to the weakened heron. The lyre in his hands returned back to a cross shape when Kratos stopped in front of him.

"_Messiah…"_

"Hm?"

"The Messiah…is my true Persona, isn't it?" Kiryll looked up. "And he's physically in my body?"

"You were conscious when he possessed you?" Kratos asked. He should've been surprised at that time. "Then why did…?"

"I…don't think I was supposed to be, though. That's why I didn't say anything." He stood up. "I think that he would've allowed me to repossess my body at anytime if I wanted to…"

"So you really are that powerful. The Messiah is one of the strongest forms of Persona available to herons." He looked at him with a straight face. "Only members of the Pentagram can handle breaking through a mind control spell used by him."

"Heh…sorry, Kratos. But I can't really tell you why I can do so." Kiryll grinned.

"…maybe because you are a member of the Pentagram."

Whoa. Wasn't expecting that.

"Leon already told you this, but members of the Pentagram retain a human appearance and limit their memories when they descend onto the human plane." Kratos folded his arms. "The fact that you have memory loss is probably nothing more than the limit all Pentagram members have upon them."

"Wait…are you saying that I could be…?"

"How should I know? Until all of my memory returns, I won't know for sure." Kratos started walking away. "Don't think too hard into it. You still have a world to run away from."

Kiryll stared at Kratos as he left the coliseum. Suddenly, he found himself glowing as a tarot card flew out of his body. It held the image of a trumpeter hovering over the figures of a man and woman, watching the sun set in front of colored waters.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** Kratos's deep voice made him shiver. **"I, THE ONE WHO HOLDS JUDGEMENT OVER SOULS, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."**

"Uh…OK, sure." _Did you just answer a Social Link? Nice one, Kiryll._

He watched as the card slowly sank back into his body and the glowing stopped. Sighing, he looked up and stretched his weary arms before heading out of the coliseum. If he was in fact a member of the Pentagram _and_ the prince of Sylvarant, he has a lot of things to do beforehand.

Then again…he secretly wished that he wasn't any of them.

"" "" ""

**Uh…I think I made someone mad O.O**


	55. Who Holds The Key To Change?

**So after that relapse into a Social Link, we're going to head back into the story! I'll try to keep the modifications to a minimum, but expect a few…but you already know that.**

"" "" ""

Kiryll sighed as he wandered the hallways of Ad Libitum. After what happened in the last mission, he figured that he'll have today off and try to figure out everything that he's been told so far. He might be the prince of Sylvarant, and/or one of the members of the Sacred Pentagram. The problem is that his memories are completely contradicting those two identities, mainly because it's about him being a girl with an elf boyfriend _(boy…friend?)_ and following around Lorelei as he preaches "the word", even though the memories feel a millennia old. To top that all off, he has a hidden self inside him that apparently can escape whenever the heck it wants to in order to wreak havoc upon those that stand too close to him.

What's his conclusion? Multiple personality syndrome. Probably the worst case ever dated, I might add.

He started rubbing his forehead as he looked out the window. There was no way on this planet that he held so many identities. He kept telling himself that people are giving him these speculations all because of the fact that he has memory loss. _Remember, none of this is set in stone. Make sure your brain doesn't blow up before you find out who you really are._

He turned his head to see a figure jumping around toward him. She was singing something about money, and the questionable singing skills allowed him to quickly figure out who he was dealing with.

"Ah, Norma." He chuckled. "Successful mission, I see?"

"Totally!" She chirped. "Not to mention that it had such a huge payload of gald! I'll be hitting a million at rates like these!"

"That's…good to hear." For some reason, he felt that he should've known that she had a money complex. "What was the mission?"

"That's the fun part: it was the easiest job ever! All we had to do is bring this really powerful person onto Ad Libitum!" She chirped. "I hope that he'll be making this request more often, because we need more people like him!"

_A transfer?_ "Hey, uh…who's the person?"

"Uh…what was his title again?" Norma looked up. "I can't remember…"

"Ah, Kiryll Nightroad. So we meet again."

He turned his head to see a familiar face walking toward him. For some reason, he had to notice the bright red eyes and the silver/gold hair in order for him to realize who he was speaking with. He chuckled at his late realization when he finally stopped.

"Ah. Zachriel. Nice to see you too." Kiryll laughed. "So…how're your duties as Descender?"

"Pretty rough. Jumping around between preaching for peace and fighting Hunters and the like, it's been a heck of a week for me."

_Oh yeah? Try being chased by three God-Generals and having a severe low in your life._ "Fighting isn't a standing point for you, isn't it?"

"No, not really. I only fight when I have to." Zachriel smiled. "Speaking of which, I never asked you what you actually used as a weapon."

"Oh, well…"

It wasn't as if it was a secret or anything. Slowly, he took his cross and transformed it into tonfa blades. When he did so, he felt them pulse along with the image of Norma. He concluded that these weapons were the symbol of the Empress Social Link between him and her.

"Wow…so your necklace can turn into any weapon?" He observed.

"Well, I'm still learning the boundaries of the term 'any' weapon." Kiryll grinned. "And since I showed mine, may I ask what yours is?"

Zachriel looked at him with an amused look on his face, as if he should've already had a clue. After a few minutes of blank looks, he took the choker around his neck and pulled on it. Instantly, he watched as it transformed into a beautiful silver staff with a red gem at the head. Norma stared at it with sparkling eyes. Kiryll, however, just stared.

"You have the same type of weapon as me?"

"I can hardly believe it either. Here I thought that my weapon was unique. Looks like I was beaten to it." Zachriel returned it back to a choker. "Then again, I expect nothing less from the all-powerful Kiryll Nightroad."

"Nah, it's nothing. Being a Descender, you have access to powers I can't even dream of." His mind wandered back to what Messiah said, something about him having unimaginable powers as well.

"Though it does come at a cost…it sucks if you have no memory of who you are." He chuckled. "It's strange. I can't remember anything past waking up at the World Tree and being found by the God-Generals."

"Well, here's to kindred spirits. I can't remember my past either." Kiryll chuckled. "Though I think I'd rather be found on the base of a tree than how I was discovered."

"Oh? How were you found?"

"Falling out of the sky and crashing on the deck." Norma spat. "I still haven't forgiven you for that, you know."

"And I'm not expecting one from you." Kiryll laughed.

"Wow…to think that our situations would be the same: we have the same type of weapon, the same type of memory loss…sudden appearances…" Zachriel laughed. "If I hadn't known any better, I would've thought that you were a fellow Descender!"

_Oh, __GREAT__. More to add on the "personality" list._ "Yeah, I know…it sounds stupid, doesn't it?"

"Though not uncommon. I think it's natural for multiple Descenders to be called onto a world, don't you think?" Zachriel grinned. "The biggest dangers usually aren't solved by just one person, right?"

"No, I guess not. Maybe I am a Descender." Kiryll chuckled. "I am doing quite well at the whole saving-the-world issue as of right now…"

"Though I feel as if your efforts are not enough."

"Um…" He was taken aback. "Not enough?"

"Think about it. The world is at war with itself: whether it's between the Vanguard and Tethe'alla or humans and herons. Ordinary guild members just don't have the power to change that." He said with a matter-of-fact voice. "The Star Order has more opportunities to solve these problems."

"Hey, are you saying that we're flawed or something?" Norma grumbled.

"No, no, guild members are not flawed. They are very skilled at tending to the needs of the people when they are needed." Zachriel sighed. "However, by tending to each and every single demand, they are incapable of noticing the bigger picture: the issues that need to change, and the power to actually perceive and change those issues."

"…that's why you're here, aren't you?" Kiryll asked with a blank voice.

"I am a Descender, sent here to change the hearts of man and protect this planet, but I can't do it alone. I have a feeling that the both of us together can help this planet…change the world." He smiled. "You feel it too, don't you? This world needs to change for the better. Staying here won't give you those opportunities to achieve those ideals."

"But you're part of the Star Order." Kiryll stated.

"Oh, don't worry. I hold one of the highest authorities in the Order, even above the God-Generals." Zachriel smiled. "I'll make sure that they don't lay a finger on you."

Norma turned her head toward Kiryll, who was actually thinking about this offer. He was looking around in the small hallway that he was standing in with a blank look on his face, making them unable to read his mind. Suddenly, he chuckled.

"You're actually wrong, Zachriel." He turned to him. "Ordinary guild members can change the world."

"Can they, now?" He folded his arms.

"Of course. You don't have to be a high-ranking official of anything to change anything. You just have to be aware of the problem." Kiryll smiled. "All changes are created by a cause and effect, an event and reaction. The reason why you think that the Star Order is the only organization able to change the world is because the world is paying more attention to them. But there's something that you haven't _quite _realized yet."

"Oh? What would that be?"

"Well, by being a guild member, we tend to the needs of the people. And by tending to their problems, you learn of the issues through their eyes. Change can only be achieved if the people you're trying to change embrace it." Kiryll stated, sounding somewhat peeved _(but they couldn't tell that, because…well, he's Kiryll)_. "In that sense, we're more in tune with what the actual problems are."

"This is the Star Order, Kiryll. We are more than aware of the issues in the world." Zachriel said with a straight voice.

"OK, part of the reason why I'm not accepting your offer is _because_ this is the Star Order." Kiryll grinned.

"Don't worry about that, Kiryll. I hold a higher ranking than the God-Generals. I'll make sure that none of them lay a finger on you." He smiled. "Not only that, I think that joining the Order will do wonders on your memory."

"My-?" His smile faded.

"Yes, I was having problems with my memory when I arrived there. But while I was part of the Order, most of it was starting to return, sometimes in chunks." He chuckled. "You aren't having any luck with yours, right?"

"No…no I'm not." Kiryll's smile returned. "But I…really don't care about that anymore."

Both Zachriel and Norma stared at him with widened eyes. Kiryll merely smiled back at them, the few memories he did have wandering in the back of his mind. At the same time, he remembered Harold stating that all the answers that he seeks consist of the Social Links with the people on this ship alone.

"The past is the past, right? There's nothing that I can change in it, so why bother knowing it?" He folded his arms. "All I have now is the future, and that future is with my family…with Ad Libitum. I appreciate your offer, but once again I'm going to decline. Hopefully this doesn't put any strain on our relationship."

"No, no…I perfectly understand what you mean, Kiryll. The past is something that, in the end, is quite useless to us." Zachriel laughed. "You don't have to worry about me."

"Think about it, though…you with the Star Order, and me with Ad Libitum." Kiryll smiled. "Worst comes to worse, we can help each other in times of need."

"Yes, that is true as well. The guilds and the Order have been somewhat rivals in the past few years." He looked up. "Oh well, there's nothing you can do about that. I'll let you stay with the guild without pressure. Besides…"

"_**You'll end up right back at my feet, where you belong."**_

Kiryll's mind suddenly went into hyperdrive. His knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground, his brain suddenly smacking the sides of his skull with a memory that felt long receded. He felt Norma shake him rapidly, yet found no energy to reply. Before he sank into the darkness, he saw Zachriel stare at him with a look that was either shock or a smug grin.

**Such a clash of yellow and red!**

"_You do know that we don't need our Cruxis Crystals in Genesis, right?"_

**A red gem in his gloved hand…**

**He's covered with a harsh light!**

"_Remember your place. You have no right to do something like that."_

***SMACK!***

**Everything's covered with a red tint…wait! The gem…it's in pieces!**

"_What did you DO to me?"_

**RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN**

**How far…does this damn corridor go?**

"_Why did you do it?"_

"_You're nothing more than a weapon, boy. Know your place!"_

"_Why did you destroy me?"_

"_**I did it…to save your life."**_

Kiryll's eyes were blinded by a bright light. After they adjusted, he realized that he was staring into a work light. His touch came in with it, and it told him that he was lying on what seemed to be hard and metal _(COLD metal, at that)_. He was also vaguely aware that a) he was under some kind of drug, and b) his collared shirt had been unbuttoned, revealing his stomach. In those few seconds, he was barely aware of another figure in the room. The sudden shadow of a blond boy confirmed that notion.

"Kiryll?"

"_Ah…otouto-san. Fancy seeing you here."_ He turned his head around. _"Um…where am I?"_

"You're in the laboratory. You've been hovering between life and death for the past hour, we couldn't conclude if you were dead or not!" Kyle backed up. "Just hold on a minute, I'll go get the others!"

Kiryll turned his head as he watched him run out the door with the words "HE'S ALIVE!" roaring after him. Just a few seconds after, he saw Norma bolt into the room and crash her hands right in front of his face. He would've jumped if he wasn't drugged.

"You…you…you _**jerk!**_ What the hell is up with you scaring me like that?" She screamed. "Do you seriously have some type of grudge against me?"

"_Um…sorry? I…didn't mean it?"_ It was all he could say. Seriously.

"Ugh…like seriously…" Norma growled.

"Whoa, easy there girl. You're just going to confuse the poor guy." It was Yuri's voice. She walked out of the way as he came into view. "How're you holding up, there?"

"_Um…I could be better."_ Kiryll shrugged, still tired to sit up. _"What happened?"_

"You passed out, that's what!" Stahn said from the other side of the table thing he was on. "When Norma checked up on you, you weren't breathing. Jade was about to declare you dead when you suddenly returned to life! You've been jumping past dead and alive for god knows how long!"

"_Whoa…now I know why Norma hates me so much."_ Kiryll chuckled. _"Hey, have you guys seen Zachriel? I think he was still on the ship-"_

"He went to inform the others about your alive condition." Arche pointed out. "We had to, actually. Harold was about five minutes from declaring you dead and cutting you open for an 'experiment' of hers."

"_**WHAT?**__**"**_ He bolted upright. _Ow, ow…sat up too fast…_ Still, it did explain why his stomach is showing.

"Geez, relax! We were all trying to prevent that from happening." Yuri chuckled. "Don't suffer another heart attack on us!"

"I'll…try." He answered, rubbing his head.

"Hey, Kiryll…what the heck happened to you?" Stahn folded his arms. "It's not natural for you to be passing out on us."

"Really? Cause it seems _**really common**_ to me." Norma grumbled.

"I…I was remembering something." He answered. "It's…different from the other memories, though."

"I was about to ask that. The other times that you were remembering, you would just stare off into the distance like you're possessed." Yuri blinked. "What did you remember?"

"Ugh, it's…scattered around. It's similar to the memory that I got back in Zaphias." Kiryll rubbed the back of his head. "I think…no wait…"

"What? What is it?" Kyle stepped forward.

"The memory…it had Guede in it."

"Guede? You mean…before we met the bone-armed psychopath, or it was a bad retelling of an incident with him?" Arche jumped.

"This was…before you met him, I think…no, it's definitely before you met him." He looked up. "His Cruxis Crystal…I destroyed it."

"You destroyed his Cruxis Crystal?" Yuri sighed. "No wonder he holds a grudge on you."

"No…there was more to it than that. I said that I did it to save his life." Kiryll rubbed his temple. "And through all that, there was another voice that was disciplining me…saying that I was a weapon and that I should know my place."

"Well, whoever that was _clearly_ has issues." Norma shrugged. "Just saying."

"But destroying a Cruxis Crystal to save Guede's life? You obviously haven't explained why to him." Stahn tilted his head. "Do you remember?"

"…No. I don't." He moved so that his feet dangled at the side of the table. "Too bad, though. It could probably get him off my back."

"Well, until that day comes, we're just going to have to rely on Zelos and whatever his father taught him to keep him at bay." Arche grinned. "You wanna get out of this place before Harold comes after you with a scalpel?"

"Yes, I do."

"" "" ""

**Whoa…nothing but violence in Kiryll's memories!**


	56. The City of Replicas :SUN:

**With memory problems and two completely different lives, Kiryll has way too much on his plate. Not only that, apparently Harold wanted to experiment on him. O woe is this poor heron!**

"" "" ""

Once Kiryll cleared out of the lab, he followed the small crowd toward the pilot cabin. He was aware that Keele and Reid were talking about something while they were flying the ship _(which confused him, since he thought that Chat was flying this ship)_, but he was too busy being dragged by Arche to get any true attention into it.

"Where are we going?" He finally asked.

"Anywhere but where Harold is." She answered.

_All right, might as well take that answer._ He sighed.

After a few minutes of running around, Kiryll was suddenly aware of the fact that he was in the mission room. He sighed _(thinking that his break was officially over)_, before realizing that Chat was out of the room. However, he was more than aware that Flynn was.

"Oh sweet! You're here, Flynn!" Yuri grinned. "I need to ask you a big favor!"

"Uh…wh-what is it?" He looked startled.

"Here! Take Kiryll and get the hell out of the ship!" Arche threw him at Flynn. "Give it at least a few hours, so that Harold stops hunting down Kiryll!"

"Hey, uh…can't we just tell her that I'm alive?"

"She'll probably paralyze you or something!" Kyle panicked. "Go, go, go!"

"" "**PUSHED OFF THE SHIP" ""**

He didn't know what was weirder: the fact that he was pushed off the ship with Flynn, or the fact that they were pushed off the ship _while they were still in the air__._ Fortunately, Kiryll is a heron, and he was more than willing to float down into the trees while holding onto more baggage.

"You OK, Flynn?"

"I…could be better…" He sighed. "Thanks, Kiryll."

"No prob." He landed and looked around. "Um…where are we, exactly?"

"Hm…this place looks familiar…" Flynn looked around. "Wait, over there!"

Kiryll turned his head and realized that he was staring at a really tall tower just a few hundred feet from where they stood. It took a few more minutes for him to realize that they were staring straight at Zaphias Castle. He chuckled, happy that he was so close to civilization.

"So…this would make this place…north of the capital!" Flynn looked over the cliff. "I guess we can hang out here until the ship can get us back."

"Yeah, but…seriously. Since when do they just push random people out of flying vehicles?" Kiryll rubbed the back of his head.

"Maybe they trusted that you would be able to save the both of us?" He asked.

"I guess, but…still." Kiryll grumbled. "You know what? I'm going to fake a damn injury the next time I see them…see how THEY like it."

Flynn stared at the strange hostility from Kiryll Nightroad before ignoring it with a chuckle. He stood up and walked past him, looking for a pathway down to the city, when he noticed a movement in the bushes. He held close to his sword and followed the sound. After a few minutes of running around, the figure was gone.

_Was that just a monster?_ He looked around. _No, I could've sworn that it was a human…_

"Flynn!" Kiryll came in through the bushes. "What's wrong?"

"…I thought I saw something. It was probably my imagination." He sighed. "We should-"

He froze. Standing in front of him was a mysterious glyph, hovering in front of two trees as if it was a doorway. It was glowing a strange yellow color, contrasting the trees and wildlife. Startled, he turned toward Kiryll, who was still staring at him with a blank look on his face.

"What?"

"There's a glyph…right there." Flynn pointed at it. "You don't see it?"

"Um…no. I don't."

Flynn got extremely confused, so he stepped up to it and reached toward the glyph. Suddenly, it vanished, and a pathway appeared between the two trees. He turned toward Kiryll, who was staring at the pathway with wide eyes. THAT, he could see.

"Well…that's interesting." Kiryll looked at it. "Should we check it out?"

"I'll go first." Flynn stepped forward. "You don't have to follow."

He stepped forward slowly, his hand to his blade. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Kiryll was following him. Flynn turned his attention back toward the road, when he suddenly realized that there was a tower in front of him. Kiryll stopped him from walking any farther, and it was then that they saw kids running around in front of the pathway. They looked ordinary enough, but they were all wearing the same outfit.

"Is this…a detention facility?" Flynn looked around. "Right next to the capital, too…"

"No, I don't see soldiers here…" Kiryll blinked. "This is…something else…"

It was around that time that the children noticed their presence. They stared at them for a few minutes before running back into the village. Flynn quickly followed suit, not realizing that the inhabitants were staring at them with wary eyes. Kiryll looked around at all of them, barely noticing that Flynn was being cornered by people with pitchforks.

"A member of the Imperial Knights!"

"Damnit! We've been discovered!"

"What should we do with him?"

Everyone was crowding in between the both of them, all holding weapons for their protection. It was then that Flynn saw something strange about their outfits: they all wore the same glyph that he had noticed a few long minutes ago. His hands went up.

"W-we mean no harm!" He declared. "We come in peace!"

"Come in peace, he says! How else in the world would he be able to see the barrier?"

"This is an outrage! We replicas just found a place that we could call our home!"

"R-replicas?" Flynn paused. "That glyph back there…it can only be seen by replicas then…"

"Flynn?" Kiryll looked over his shoulder.

"Everyone, please listen to me!" Flynn stood up tall. "My name is Flynn Scifo. Yes, I am a member of the Imperial Knights, but I am also a replica like all of you! That is why I was able to see your barrier!"

_Replica?_ Kiryll looked around him. _This is a city sorely of replicas?_

"Look at him! He's lying through his teeth!"

"No member of the Knights can be a replica! The damn Commandant would refuse them on the spot!"

"Wait."

Everyone turned their heads to see a woman walking toward them. She had long, flowing hair and had the most beautiful blue eyes they ever saw. If they didn't know any better, Kiryll would've sworn that it was Flynn's sister or at least a relative of sorts. She walked up to him.

"Your name is Flynn, and you claim that you're a replica." She said. "Do you know the name of your original?"

"Y-Yes. Guy Cecil, a friend of mine." He chuckled. "We…sorta share the same face."

"I see…" She touched Flynn's cheeks and rubbed her fingers. "You're leaking of fonons…"

"Hm?" Flynn lifted his hands to his face. "W-what do you mean?"

"No, no…it's not dangerous. It's common for a replica to leak of fonons at this rate…" She turned to Kiryll. "And the boy there?"

"No, he's an original. But he's with me, so you don't have to worry about him."

"…I will take you up on your word, Flynn Scifo." She turned around. "If you two don't mind, I will like to talk to you privately."

"" "" ""

The building that they were escorted into looked like a building usually held for mayors. When they both walked in, they saw the woman sitting on a couch, waiting for them to join her. Kiryll sat down first, since Flynn was distracted by a picture on the table. It was with the woman, and a young boy that looked like him.

"Is this you?" He asked.

"No…my original…and yours." She answered. "I guess that your original has not informed you of his past."

"I…didn't think it was in my best interest." He sat down next to Kiryll. "The past is something that most people don't like to focus on…"

"Yes, I believe that is the only liberating thing about being a replica." She smiled. "Her name is Mary, an older sister of the man you call Guy."

"Wait, you know that?" Kiryll looked confused. "I thought you didn't have any memories of her past."

"I don't. However, like you, I have sought out who I was supposed to replace." She stated. "From what I've learned, she had been killed when her home was attacked…around the same time I was created."

"Whoever cloned you used what was left of Mary's body…" Flynn blinked. "My goodness…have you tried to come in contact with Guy?"

"Like you said…the past is something that most people don't wish to remember. If he knows about the death about his sister, then just trying to come back to him would only serve to pain him more." Mary stated. "That is something that I don't wish to do…especially not to my original's brother."

"True…I guess." Kiryll nodded. "This is probably for the best…"

"Still, I can understand where you are going with your statement, Flynn…" She looked confused. "Though I can't help but ask…why is your name different from that of your original? Surely you were used to being called by his name?"

"No…I was a special case, apparently. When I was cloned, I was adopted into another family for some reason. I held another name." He grinned. "Hence…I was always known as Flynn."

"I see…wish all of us were just as lucky as you. Unlike you, we were all created for a long forgotten purpose." She sighed. "There really isn't any place we are accepted into, so I started this small establishment so that there could be a place where replicas can go and live."

"That is a nice gesture…no wonder it's been hidden by a barrier." Kiryll turned his head.

"Yes, one of our denizens had abilities in the magic artes, and was able to cast the spell for our barrier. We owe our lives to him." She smiled, a strange glint in her eyes.

"You're going to ask if we keep this place a secret, right?" Flynn asked.

"If you will be most willing to."

"I will. As a replica and a knight, I will keep to my promise." Flynn nodded. "Will you do the same, Kiryll?"

"No problem." Kiryll grinned. "If I meet some replicas along the way, can I tell them of this place?"

"Yes, of course. Our village is home to all weary replicas." She answered.

"Good. Cause I have a feeling that I might meet up with a few more." Kiryll chuckled.

"" "" ""

"A city composed of nothing but replicas…" Flynn looked around the area. "And they're so close to Zaphias, too…"

"I can assume that they can pass of as ordinary humans and trade regularly with the capital." Kiryll smiled. "This doesn't look any different from any other city I've been in."

"Yeah…I actually feel a little less of an outsider here." He chuckled. "Being surrounded with people who can understand you does have that feeling, doesn't it?"

"I think so…but I don't think that you have to stay here to have that wanted feeling." Kiryll turned to him. "Ad Libitum accepts you too, you know."

"Yeah, it does." Flynn sighed. "I meant that it's easier to know that you're not the only replica in the world…other than the two that I know."

"True, true…maybe we should bring Luke and Veigue here next time we come here." He looked around.

"…Maybe we can bring Guy?"

"Guy? Are you considering showing him the replica of his deceased sister?"

"I've been thinking about it…maybe this would be something that he would want. You know…to see his sister one more time after all that he's been through."

"You're going to have to think a little more into that, Flynn. You can't just drop a bombshell like this on him."

"Yeah, I know…but one of these days…we should give him that opportunity."

"Maybe…"

Kiryll stared at the knight as he stared into the sky with his thoughts. Silently, he stared in the sky too. He'll have to keep this city a secret too, even from the replicas, until the time is right. Suddenly, he heard a crash in his mind, and the Sun Arcana card appeared in his mind.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I. I, THE SUN THAT ILLUMINATES THE DARKNESS, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND. AND WHEN THE TIME COMES…I WILL GET STRONGER, SO THAT YOU WILL FIND THE TRUTH."**

The card vanished as his mind started to feel clearer. He closed his eyes as he felt the crisp wind go through his hair.

**/-/**

"_Oh, that's right. You've never met Princess Kaela before, haven't you?"_

"_Um…no, not that I know of." She responded._

"_You'll love her. Her kindness is something that I don't even think any of us can ever dream of having."_

"_Is that why we're at this castle, my lord?" Kanata looked up._

"_Yes…this is her castle…"_

_Kyra looked around at the massive figure that stood before her. The tower was huge, yet not nearly as big as the castle that she would see in the future as Kiryll. She wandered in with Lorelei and Yulia and saw a figure sitting in the throne room. She had the longest, most beautiful white hair that she had ever seen. As she walked toward the long stairs toward them, Kyra noticed that she was wearing a flowing green robe and a silver crystal necklace. Her green eyes seemed to sparkle like clear emeralds._

"_Princess Kaela." Lorelei bowed. "You are doing well, I see."_

"_As are you, Lorelei." She curtsied. "How are your travels?"_

"_Successful. Your kingdom is flourishing and there are no signs of war." He said. "My companions and I wish to stay here for the night."_

"_Stay here as long as you wish. Think of this place as your second home." Kaela turned to Kyra. "May I ask for your names?"_

"_M-my name is Kyra." She bowed. "This is my companion Kanata."_

"_An elf? My goodness. I hope that the humans in my kingdom aren't doing you any damage." Kaela looked worried._

"_I have been given strange glances, but I have been doing just fine." He bowed properly. "Do not worry yourself, princess."_

"_That's good…" She smiled, stroking her necklace. "Well then, I'll go tell the cooks to make us a big dinner for tonight!"_

"_Thank goodness…" Kyra sighed. "I'm hungry…"_

**/-/**

"Kiryll?"

"Hm?" He turned his head toward Flynn. "What?"

"It's been a few hours since we first came here…" He smiled. "Should we head back to Ad Libitum?"

"Yes, we should…" He folded his arms. "They are _so_ going to pay for what they did to me…"

"" "" ""

**Ack-! Another Social Link chapter! Sorry, wasn't planning it!**


	57. A Surprising Conclusion

**So Kiryll's back on the ship. Watch as he tries his best not to drive someone's head in a wall. I'll try to keep the Social Link chapters to a minimum, so bear with me.**

"" "" ""

He wandered over to the mission room. When he got in, he noticed that Zachriel was having a conversation with Chat. He was wary about entering, but he had quickly noticed his presence. Zachriel smiled and beckoned him to join them. He hesitantly joined them.

"You're OK, right?" Chat asked. "Zac here told me everything."

"_Did he inform you on how I was tossed off the side of the ship to avoid a confrontation with a crazy scientist who wanted to cut me open?"_

"Huh?"

"No, I'm OK. No major injuries. Just a bit of…emotional trauma, I guess." Kiryll shrugged. "The thing I remembered was a little…sudden, so it took me off guard."

"You remembered something?" Zachriel smiled. "So you are remembering your past."

"Yeah…but most of the time, it's intact. This one was…a little more frayed." Kiryll rubbed the back of his head. "The shock of it was what probably knocked me out."

"Knocked you out? Kiryll, _THEY TOLD ME YOU WERE DEAD!__"_ Chat panicked.

"Oh…that."

"How in the world can you sound so casual with what happened?" Chat slammed her hands on the table. "Don't you care for yourself at all?"

"I do, Chat. I just didn't register that I was dying, that's all." He shrugged.

"Don't worry about him, Chat. He's all better now, so there's no use wasting your energy." Zachriel turned to Kiryll. "If you're wondering where your friends are, I was aware that they were watching a match in the coliseum."

"All right. Thanks."

He turned and slowly walked toward the coliseum. Chat and Zachriel smiled, thinking that his friends would be perfect for him after his near death experience. Secretly, Kiryll was wondering which one should receive his left punch first.

"" "" ""

"Aw, come on Rutee! You have this battle in the bag!" Arche screamed from over the edge.

"You think so, Arche?" Yuri laughed. "Come on, she's going up against Zelos! He's a pretty good swordsman!"

"You sounded sarcastic." Stahn looked at him.

"It's Yuri. Everything sounds sarcastic from his perspective." Norma laughed.

"Wait, Zelos?" Arche leaned over the edge again. "Flash him! **FLASH HIM!"**

"_If battles were only that easy."_ Yuri leaned back. "Hey, speaking of which, do you think we should check on Kiryll?"

"Yeah, I'm worried about onii-san." Kyle sighed. "Maybe pushing him off the ship was a bad idea…"

"Pushing him off the ship?" Norma exclaimed.

"Aw, don't worry about it. He's a heron, right? He can fly." Stahn grinned. "And he's cool enough to carry Flynn! He's light enough, right?"

"He is, but I don't know about the armor." Yuri laughed.

"I don't think Flynn was wearing armor." Arche looked up. "I think Guy gave him one of his outfits…I forgot why though."

"Oh, I remember that conversation!" Kyle sat up. "It had something to do with making Flynn seem more of a guild member or something. The guilds and the knights aren't on good terms, you know."

"…_pushing him off the ship?"_

"Yeah, that's why Guy gave him the outfit. Uh, there was an attachment on it…like it was called something weird…" She was rolling her raised wrist. "Like uh…Daring Gaunt, or Daunting Giant, or something like that…"

"You mean Dashing Gent?"

"YES! That's what it was called!" Arche snapped her fingers together. "Yeah, I think he was wearing that."

"_**For the record, NO, he was wearing his armor. And let me tell you right not that it was HEAVY to carry. I nearly popped my shoulder trying to save him."**_

The air suddenly became tense, and it wasn't from the swordsman match. Arche was the first person to see the figure that was slowly approaching them, but even then she didn't see him sweep in out of nowhere and lock Stahn into a chokehold.

"_**How about next time, you try and actually hide me ON THE SHIP?"**_

"Gack-! OK, OK! Geez! We were just talking about how we were going to get you!"

"_**Good."**_ Kiryll dropped him on the ground. He swept his hair away and shook his head. "So how is everyone today?"

***Silence***

"Oh, is there a battle going on?" He leaned over the railing.

"Uh…yeah! It's between Rutee and Zelos!" Norma peeked over the railing. "They're still in a tie, though…but I think Rutee's going to win."

"Going to? I think she already won."

Norma was about to say something when they heard a body collapse on the ground. Everyone leaned over the railings to see that Rutee had dealt him the final blow, and that she had indeed won the match. Arche laughed in triumph as the others stared.

"I called that!" Arche grinned.

"Wow…Rutee's good." Norma admired. "Is anyone else dueling right now?"

"I think it's a four-way match, this time. Rita wanted in on it…but I don't know of anyone else." Yuri said, pulled Stahn up from his unconscious position on the floor. "Hey, you got some energy to burn. You want in?"

"Don't force onii-san in this yet!" Kyle exclaimed. "He just came back from a near-death experience, not to mention the stunt onii-san put on him!"

"_Hey…__you're__ the one who actually pushed him off."_ Stahn grumbled.

"OK, is ANYONE going to tell me what you're talking about?" Norma grumbled.

"Actually, I think I can handle a melee match." Kiryll grinned. "I'm perfectly capable."

"Kiryll, shouldn't you at least fake some worry here?" Yuri folded his arms. "Kyle's right. After being dead for about half an hour, I'm surprised you didn't shut yourself in your room and started shunning anything out."

"…Chat said the same thing." He sat down next to Yuri. "And you guys are right: I should be worried after what happened to me. That's the weird part…I'm not."

"You're not worried about the fact that you almost died." Arche stated. "So what? You're actually expecting another near-death experience?"

"No…nothing. I don't feel anything about it. It's like…I don't know, like I don't care." Kiryll sighed. "I just…don't have any emotions."

"Seriously? Like…you're heartless or something?" Stahn leaned in. "Since when?"

"…ever since I came onto this ship." Kiryll realized. "I just woke up…I wasn't confused, I wasn't scared, I was…observant."

"Observant." Yuri voiced out.

"Of what was going on around me. My mind was telling me to react accordingly to what I can perceive from my surroundings. All I was doing was reacting…to everything." He sighed and held his head. "I think I started feeling something the minute I entered Zaphias and saw Guede for the first time…but then it faded away and I just…stopped caring again."

"So let me get this straight." Arche sat in front of her. "Not only are you void of memories…but you're void of emotions, too."

"I know, it's crazy. I mean, I haven't been worrying about it when I got here, but…ever since Keterburg, it's been haunting me." Kiryll leaned back and sighed loudly. "God, I never knew that digging into the past brings up this many _problems!__"_

"Wait…you don't have any emotions? Not at all?" Norma looked confused. "So wait…you don't hold any emotions for us?"

"Not at first…when I met you all…maybe Yuri, but that was because one of my memories came back at that time." He answered. "But I knew that everyone was being so nice to me, and their reasons were justified as well…I knew that I had to make it up to all of you…"

"You didn't trust us at all." Stahn sounded confused.

"I didn't. Come to think of it, I didn't think I could at that time. But from what I saw, you _trusted _me: a total stranger who just fell out of the sky and onto the ship. You could've just easily tossed me overboard and went about your business." Kiryll smiled. "The fact that you guys didn't do that…made me think that I should at least keep up my end of the bargain."

"Kiryll…trust isn't a bargain." Arche stated.

"In my head, it was. The concept of trust is nothing more than a mental agreement between a set number of people that each of their actions justifies and/or supports another person's set goals all while keeping their morals intact." He dictated. "Each and every one of you, in their own ways, wanted peace through non-violent means. That's what I observed, and that's what I acted upon. By the time I regained a few of my memories…it became a part of my consciousness, emotions be damned."

"That's the strangest thing that I've ever heard." Yuri admitted. "You trusted them…even though you had no emotions at all and thus had no personal connection to them."

"Well, I do _now_…trust you emotionally, I mean." He stated. "I don't know exactly how to phrase it…but I think my ability to experience emotions is connected to my memories?"

"Oh…great. The minute you get your memories back, you're going to be one of those mood-swinging people, aren't you?" Norma whined. "At this point, just stay as you are. _**PLEASE**_._"_

"I'll try." Kiryll laughed. "Don't worry."

"OK, that just sounds ridiculous, I'm sorry!" Stahn stated. "How is it possible for you to be void of emotions when you're an amnesia victim?"

"How is it possible for me to have two alter egos and the ability to change between genders?"

"**TRUE."** Yuri chuckled. "Just goes to prove that Kiryll does not equal normal!"

"Neither do the rest of you." Kiryll countered.

"We'll take that as a compliment." Arche laughed. "So are you willing to go into the ring?"

"Too bad. Looks like the match already started." Kyle leaned over. "Oh, it's your father Arche! And Raine-san and Philia-san! Guess it's a mage battle."

"A mage battle?" Yuri chuckled. "Then we should clear out of here before-"

***BOOM*** Fireballs flying everywhere!

"Yeah, let's go."

"" "" ""

**Short chapter, I know. The action's going to kick up soon.**


	58. When You Just Need a Break :EMPEROR:

**The more Kiryll finds out about his past, the more human he becomes. That is the conclusion that he has come to, and now all he can do is go down that path.**

"" "" ""

Kiryll and his companions stared to wander the hallways as they started to go out in an argument on whether or not they should go into another mission or hang out in Altamira _(which, as Arche would preach, was named after Altamir. It's so hard not to laugh after that statement)_. After a few minutes, Kiryll found himself in a daydream, and lost all of them.

_Oh…damn…_ He sighed. _I lost them again…_

"Well, good thing I hung back."

He blinked and turned around, revealing that Yuri was walking behind him this entire time. Kiryll almost jumped in shock _(a feeling he somehow took in stride)_, but then quickly calmed his nerves, chuckling to himself as he turned completely to him.

"Don't tell me you saw this coming." Kiryll laughed.

"You want me to lie, or…?"

"Nah, it's fine. I know." He chuckled.

"What in the world were you thinking about, anyway?" Yuri asked. "You've been zoning out more and more, come to think of it."

"Oh…right, well…" Kiryll rubbed the back of his head. "I still have some problems trying to think of myself as one big input machine."

"You're calling yourself a robot now? Come on, if you're worried about it, you have emotions. And last time I check, robots don't have emotions."

"I am worried about it…but that's not the big problem." Kiryll stated. "I'm just wondering how all of this is possible."

"How all of what is possible?"

"How remembering my past is allowing me to have human emotions. It doesn't make any sense." He folded his arms. "Look at me: I still can't remember every single detail of what my life used to be and I'm perfectly fine."

"Even though you're stressing out about your _'lack of emotions'_ and the fact that there are still people chasing you around."

"Yeah, you're right. I have a lot more things to worry about." Kiryll chuckled. "We have a prince to hunt down. Personal issues be damned."

"Wow…that was quick. But I don't think abandoning what's going on with you is going to help. First of all, you could be the prince for all we know."

"Not from what I've been hearing. Zachriel was giving me stuff like 'you could be the other Descender sent to help me' and stuff like that. What's worse is that our cases seem freakishly similar: amnesiac Wild Cards with the ability to transform objects into colorful weapons. What do you think? Could I be a Descender?"

"I didn't even know that there could be more than one Descender." Yuri seemed amused.

"The stronger the threat, the more it sends…that's what he stated. He said that the danger was so strong that Genesis might've sent more than one Descender." Kiryll sighed. "What do you think? Could I be the back-up for Zachriel?"

"You? Well, I can't judge it as of right now, but if he really is a human…he should be your back-up." Yuri answered. "Look, if all goes well and you end up being a Descender, at least you know what your purpose here is!"

"…but if that's true, then maybe I should've stayed emotionless."

"Hm?" Yuri looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Hey, you're the human being. You should know the legend of the Descender." Kiryll looked out the window. "Descenders are only summoned from the World Tree when Galadriel believes that the human realm is in danger. Once the danger is gone…" He snapped his fingers. "Taken back. Without so much as a good-bye."

"Whoa. Zac was talking about how he was being isolated from other people in Daath…guess that's the reason why."

"Yeah, it is. If Descenders hold any connection to the human realm, whether it is friendship or rivalry or love…" Kiryll cringed. "It would make fulfilling their purpose…all the more painful. In that case, why in the world would Descenders hold friendships and attachments to the ones he protects when he'll lose them all in the end?"

"Hey, isn't the whole world like that?"

Kiryll turned his head toward Yuri. _Since when did he sound like such a philosopher?_

"All people are like that: we all make friends and find loved ones and whatnot. Our separation is expanded by years, but in the end everyone will go on their own paths. What we have left of those connections are the memories, which in turn shapes a person into what they want to be. It's kind of like…your cause-and-effect thinking process that you have, only expanded a couple of years."

"Yuri…"

"Sure, a Descender could spend his entire time running around the globe slicing monsters and saving the whole world in his spare time, but you have to admit that halfway through his journey, he would start questioning on what in the world he's saving in the first place. What Zac's doing is good for him: learning about the people that will inherit the world that he's been sent to save. As for you, Kiryll…well, you're going farther than that: you're living with them. As of right now, you're sure that we, as human beings and herons and all the other creatures that run around, aren't that perfect."

"I don't think anyone can be perfect, Yuri. Not even gods can be perfect."

"There you go, you're learning something. I can't help but be under the belief that Descenders are sent on this planet with a bit of a biased thought process: all humans on this planet are peace-loving creatures that will do anything to save their neighbors and all that sugary _jazz._ Once they find out the truth…well, I think that's something for rebellion, don't you think?"

"I don't think Zachriel was biased about anything, Yuri. He just seemed really nice to us. If he did think of us as peace-loving creatures, he would've noticed the truth when he came onto Ad Libitum."

"Yeah, true. In that sense, you'd make a much better Descender than Zac. You saw our short-comings. You realize that we can't be perfect and that we have some issues that causes the best of us to clash. Even then…even though you know that we have problems, you still have faith in us. A better plus? You held that faith even though you had a heart of tin! **THAT'S** saying something."

"Heh. Are you lecturing me, Yuri Lowell?"

"Well, it seemed to be more practical than just slapping you across your face and telling you to snap out of it." He grinned. "By the looks of things, I was right."

"All right, Yuri. I'm going to end this conversation with this question: who do you think I am?" Kiryll spread his arms out. "Am I the prince of Sylvarant? A Descender sent to save this planet? Could I secretly by a member of the Pentagram, sent here to guide Zachriel? Or could I be something else?"

"I already know the answer to this question." He answered, unfolding his arms. "You are Kiryll Nightroad, member of Ad Libitum, and a damn good one at that. No one else gets to say otherwise."

"…" Kiryll grinned. "I'm Kiryll Nightroad…yeah, sounds good."

The both of them stared at each other for a few seconds before Kiryll heard a shatter in his head. Instantly, the image of the Emperor Arcana Card appeared in his mind, glowing with a fiery flame that gave him the impression of young knights heading toward battle.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I. I, THE EMPEROR OF MAN, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND. AND WHEN THE TIME COMES…I WILL GET STRONGER, SO THAT YOU WILL FIND THE TRUTH…"**

The image faded from his mind, and he suddenly felt his heart flutter. _Where was the feeling coming from?_

**/-/**

"_Ah, there you are, Kyra."_

_She turned her head to see Kanata walking toward her. The landscape seemed to have changed from her last memory, now showing that she was standing at the balcony of a massive ball room. She was wearing a shimmering white gown, while he was wearing a white soldier tux. A red rose was his corsage. For some reason, she felt the fluttering get even worse._

"_You look nice…Kanata." She said. "Did Lorelei force you into that?"_

"_Not the master…but the mayor. She believed that I should dress up for a party as grand as this." Kanata answered, looking stiff. "I never knew that…human clothing was so tight."_

"_Well, that's only reserved for human aristocracy. Ordinary humans wear the same robes you're used to."_

"_Oh, is the miss lecturing me? You must feel embarrassed!" He laughed. "You shouldn't be…you look nice in that."_

_Her face began to burn, and she turned her head away toward the forest that was standing in front of her. With the amount of trees hiding the tree houses, she couldn't figure out just where in the world she was. Maybe this was a city in the making?_

"_W-we're going to meet up with Princess Kaela soon, right?" She stammered out. "I heard that she's a very nice princess."_

"_She must be." He joined her at the side. "Have you seen the herons and Krytians wandering around the streets of her kingdom? I haven't seen something like that since I left my homeland…"_

"_You mean Sylvarant, right? It's a beautiful place." She stated. "It's too bad, though…for Tethe'alla to take over like that. Sylvarant was a peaceful country…"_

"_It really was…but I can't blame Tethe'alla or its people. They saw us Sylvaranti as a threat to their peace, and they took the means to protect themselves." Kanata said with an unwavered voice. "If I must place blame on a being, it would be the king."_

"_Why the king? He's Tethe'alla incarnate."_

"_No…not from what I…heard." He paused at that statement. "He was always out for power…and I've heard that his family was nothing more than Hunters. He wanted to expand his hunting grounds…"_

"_Kanata…is that why you fled?"_

"_I tried to…but in the end, I found myself unable to leave. I ended up in hiding, away from the soldiers, away from it all…" He smiled. "I told myself that I was stupid, that me staying there is an endangerment to my life…but looking back at it…I'm glad that I stayed."_

_She felt her heart flutter a thousand times more before she felt his arms wrap around her waist. Her face began to color itself all shades of red, and she shivered._

"_Um…why are you so grateful? You were risking your life every single day…just to stay in the place of your birth."_

"_Easy…if I had left, I never would've met the woman of my dreams."_

"…_you do know that Lorelei is a man, right?"_

"_Oh damn, wish I knew that in advance." He said sarcastically. "Oh well, maybe I should settle down with the prettier looking angel."_

_She felt every nerve in her system tense as he held her hand. After the shock burned through her heart, she felt nothing more than a pounding heart that was to signify every last bit of her energy to respond. But she didn't have to. As he lifted her chin up for one…settling…_

**/-/**

"Kiryll?"

He jumped, his face still bright red. That in itself caused Yuri to start laughing, making Kiryll pout in anger. As he began to contemplate on what the memory was supposed to be about, he heard footsteps from behind him, and he turned to see Arche running toward them.

"We all want to go to Altamira!" She called. "We heard that Astrid's group is having a mission in there, so we figured that we'd meet her there!"

"All right." He nodded. "We should head there."

"" "" ""

The city was HUGE. From what Arche and Kyle were talking about, Altamira was a seaside resort city that was run by the Lezareno Company _(which was run by Regal, if Kiryll remembered correctly)_. As they stepped further into the city, they saw a familiar redhead chatting up a few women at one of the shops.

"Who wants in?" Arche grinned.

"Ready when you are." Kyle answered.

"In on…what?" Kiryll blinked.

They both snuck up on the redhead while he was in on his laughing streaks. Suddenly, Arche jumped into the air and they both kicked him _(hard)_. He went careening down a few blocks before crashing into a nearby lamp post. The women there gasped in shock.

"No worries, no worries!" Arche waved to them. "He has a condition that requires that we kick him hard like that! He'll be fine!"

_Wow…and here I thought I was a terrible liar._ Kiryll tilted his head.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps charging from behind him. He turned his head around and noticed that everyone was pouring out of the ship, smiles written all over their faces. Blinking, he watched as Chat came out of the parked ship with the same grin on her face.

"The president of Lezareno Company said that we're all VIP guests for helping him with his tasks!" She grinned. "Everyone has a day off, so we're hanging out here!"

_Oh…great._

"" "" ""

After a few minutes of wandering around the city _(and dealing with Arche and Kyle's experimentation of how the vehicle systems work…and how to make them go faster)_, he wandered next to the hotel and found himself in a point that held a small gray plaque. When Kiryll walked to it, he read the engraving _(which looked fairly recent)_. It stated the history of the company and how it was named after the heron Altamir after he had saved the company's ancestors.

_Whoa…so this is the history of Lezareno…_ Kiryll thought.

"Quite frankly, I can't remember saving anyone that long ago."

He stood up and turned his head to see that Leon was walking toward him, not wearing his usual outfit. Instead, he was wearing a black hooded jacket heavily covered with zippers and chains. He was also wearing black pants and shoes, and seemed to be wearing black gloves as well.

"Pft. Nice outfit, I see." Kiryll laughed. "What, you decided to go in a major shopping spree in your city?"

"No. Rutee and Chat insisted that they buy this for me." He folded his arms. "Quite frankly, it's extremely hot and I'm grateful that this is a cool place."

"Then why are you keeping it on if you hate it so much?" He asked.

"Because they hid my clothes somewhere, and they won't tell me where."

Kiryll couldn't help but laugh at that statement, making Leon grumble some choice words under his breath. After a few minutes, he finally calmed down. He shook his head, turned toward the plaque and took as many deep breathes as he could to clear his mind.

"So…you don't remember Lezareno at all?"

"No, I don't. Then again, I don't remember much from being Altamir." Leon walked toward the plaque. "Any type of memory I do have focuses on one event-"

"Which is what?"

"Talking to Lorelei about revealing my identity to you." He answered. "And something about a princess…"

"Princess? Hey, I have memories about one too." Kiryll blinked. "Do you know her name?"

"No. All I know is that I was one of her most trusted companions."

"Maybe you were a knight in her kingdom, or a bodyguard of some sorts?"

"Hm…" He looked troubled.

"Emilio-san!"

Kiryll and Leon turned around to see Marian running toward them with a big smile on her face. When she locked eye contact with Kiryll, she jolted back in a startle before shaking her head and dismissing what she had just said. She turned toward Leon.

"Leon-san, w-what's with the outfit?"

"It's best you don't ask about it, Marian." He answered, clearly wishing for personal revenge. "Though if you ever find Rutee or Chat, tell them that I would like a meeting with them…"

"Actually, I found Rutee walking around the amusement park with Norma and Farah." She smiled. "Shall I go get them now?"

"You don't have to…you can give her a small warning, though…"

Marian nodded and smiled before bowing at Kiryll and walking away toward the transportation vehicles. After she was gone, Leon turned toward Kiryll, who was grinning with a newly found amusement. Leon could only glare at him back.

"_**Emilio?"**_

"Shut up, Kiryll."

"I'm sorry, but here I thought you hated pet names!" His eyes twitched. "Unless…you happen to like Marian's nickname?"

"_**Shut up, Kiryll."**_

Leon quickly stepped away from him as they both wondered just how in the world Kiryll got to be so pushy about this _(Kiryll concluded that it was definitely a Social Link side effect)_. Suddenly, Kiryll grabbed Leon's arm and pulled him back, barely missing a bomb.

"You OK?"

"I'll be fine." Leon pulled his arm out of his hand. "But-"

His statement was cut off when the both of them heard a boat engine revving up just a few feet away from them. They turned their heads to see a ship charging toward the shores, filled with familiar figures.

"The Vanguard…!"

"" "" ""

**Dun dun DUUUUUUN!**


	59. Knight of Ratatosk

**Kiryll was supposed to have a nice day to relax with his friends in Altamira when two things happened: 1) Ad Libitum took the break as well, and 2) THE VANGUARD IS ATTACKING!**

"" "" ""

Kiryll grabbed Leon's arm and dragged him into the hotel without even thinking about it. In fact, he became aware of what he did after Leon swatted his hand away. Once inside, he noticed Arche and Rita running into the lobby just minutes after they came in.

"Oh, thank god you're OK!" Arche ran to him. "Did you SEE the Vanguard soldiers running around this place?"

"We almost got blown up, actually. But we're fine." He answered. "How about you two?"

"Yeah, we're fine." Rita stated. "We don't know about anyone else, though…"

"Wait, there're Vanguard soldiers in the city?" Leon asked calmly. "Where did you two come from?"

"The amusement park, I think." Arche rubbed the back of her head. "I can't remember much, other than carrying Rita on my broom-"

"_Damnit, Marian was just heading there-!"_ He grumbled.

"Wait, don't tell me that you're going out there in that mess?" Rita darted his head to him. "Leon, you're the one that yells at us about doing something on impulse! Don't tell me that you're a hypocrite!"

Leon was about to say something _(maybe arguing about saving Marian or something)_ when they heard a girl scream just from outside. They all darted their heads around to see Marian run through the doors with a few panicking tourists. She jumped into Leon's arms.

"Marian!" He said calmly.

"Eh? Eh?" She darted her head around. "Wh-where's Astrid? She was just behind me!"

"Astrid…?" Leon darted his head up.

"S-she hid me from the Vanguard soldiers and told me to hide here!" She stood up. "D-did she get kidnapped?"

Kiryll noticed that Leon's face had gone completely pale _(whether it was already pale from his panic about Marian or about Astrid's condition, he couldn't tell)_. Around that time, Kiryll turned his head and noticed some of his other companions running into the hotel, escorting as many people as they could inside.

"Princess Natalia." He headed toward her. "Have you seen Astrid?"

"No, I haven't. Someone told me that she was getting people out of the amusement park, but…"

"OK, so now we know where she is…" Kiryll nodded. "Thank you."

"" "" ""

It took a while for the crowds to clear themselves out. Arche had taken the liberty of buying a room before the Vanguard attacked, so everyone headed over there to think up a plan. Kiryll looked around and made a count of the people in the room.

_So we have Leon and Rita here with me. Arche is going to get Stahn._ He recalled. _Yuri's out in the lobby, but he said he'll meet with us. And Zelos…_

His thoughts were disrupted when he heard a rattle on the door. It swung open, revealing Arche dragging a very surprised Stahn through the doorway with a rather peeved look on her face.

"It took me forever to find this guy!" She sighed.

"Hey, sorry if the crowds were hard to get through!" He pulled his arm away. "All right, are we expecting anyone else?"

"We have Yuri downstairs with the others. He'll inform us about what's going on and if he sees Astrid." Kiryll stated. "Rita said that she'll come meet up with us once she does a headcount of who else might be missing. And as for Zelos…"

"As for Zelos…?" Leon looked up.

"He's…recruiting." He answered.

"Ah." Stahn grinned. "OK, so what's the plan for right now?"

"We're waiting for Yuri. Whatever he says, we'll plan on that." Leon folded his arms.

"Oh, speak of the devil." Arche grinned. "I just saw him head up the stairs."

"What? How?" Stahn asked.

"You were too busy tripping to notice."

Everyone turned their heads to see Yuri walking toward them with a grin on his face. Behind him, Kiryll noticed that Sheena was standing with folded arms. She looked at him and smiled, a sort of personal truce that Kiryll happily accepted.

"What's the situation?" Leon asked.

"The city's completely surrounded." Yuri answered. "According to Sheena here, the Vanguard's got every single entrance sealed shut. No one in or out."

"Why in the world is the Vanguard attacking the city?" Stahn asked. "There's no way they would've attacked just because they learned we were here!"

"The Vanguard is that rash. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case." Kiryll stated. "They are after me, of course."

"Actually, not this time. Their commander Brute is demanding his daughter from the Lezareno Company." Sheena stated. "He's claiming that his kingdom of Sylvarant can't happen without an heir to the throne, and that Regal had stolen her from him."

"Has he ever considered the fact that she might've considered him to be a commanding SOB and abandoned him?" Rita asked.

"Apparently not." Sheena laughed. "Still, we have no idea who this girl might be. I talked to Regal, and he said that he had no idea who she is either."

"What's the trade-off?" Leon asked.

"According to what I heard…" Yuri sighed. "She gets handed over to us, or everyone here gets killed. _By bombs."_

"_**BOMBS?**__**"**_ Arche jumped up to her feet.

"That's what the Vanguard's saying: the girl for the city." Yuri summarized.

"So the whole city is a hostage…" Kiryll cringed.

"Any word about Astrid?" Leon asked.

"No, nothing. None of my scouts could find her." Sheena answered. "And I don't think she's in the hotel, either."

"Damnit! Where could she be?" Stahn muttered.

It was then that they heard a scuffle from outside the room. The voices sounded like Zelos and Marta, and they were arguing about something. Once Kiryll walked out of the room, he noticed that Zelos was on the ground, Emil was grabbing onto the doors that held the elevator, and Luke was standing in the middle of them just wondering what in the world happened.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Marta…she's going to Commander Brute." Emil said. "She's handing herself in."

"Handing herself in?" Kiryll froze. "Wait, she's…?"

"The daughter of Brute, leader of the Vanguard." Emil lowered his head. "Yes."

"Wait, WHAT?" Arche stepped forward. "Explain that to us, please!"

"Marta is Brute's daughter. What else is there to know?" Leon rolled his eyes. "She can handle herself. There's no way that he would harm his own daughter, the heir to the Sylvarant throne."

"That's not the only reason…" Emil turned to them. "Marta holds something…that he wants. One that he thinks will allow easy access to the throne."

"_If she's the 'prince' we're all looking for, I swear to god I am going to_ _**scream."**_ Arche shivered.

"Maybe she's a heron with an interesting ability?" Luke asked.

"If she was a heron, I would've known that." Sheena answered. "She's human."

"Hey, Emil. This…something that he wants." Yuri stepped forward. "It's on her forehead, isn't it?"

"What? Geez, here I thought I made the random conclusions!" Stahn blinked.

"What makes you say that?" Arche tilted her head.

"She's constantly fixing her hair. In every single incident that I've seen her in, she's always making sure that the flock of hair covering her forehead is there and solid." He made one motion to his hair on his face. "Cruxis Crystals don't usually settle there."

"I high doubt that it's an Exsphere or a bodhi blastia, either." Rita rubbed her chin. "There's no reason for Brute to hunt down his daughter just for that."

"Let him talk." Kiryll turned to Emil. "What is it?"

"…Ratatosk."

"Ratatosk?" Leon almost lost his cool.

"Whoawhoawhoa, back up back up back up back up back up." Arche motioned her arms as if she was backing something up, and then swung them out. _**"**__**WHAT?**__**"**_

"Wow…" Zelos stood up. "Here I thought Ratatosk held a _monster_ form, not a pretty girl!"

"_That would explain why he would bend to her every will…"_ Rita mumbled.

"No, she's not actually Ratatosk. He's in a dormant stage, sleeping in her forehead." Emil answered. "She told me that when he descended, he used up too much of his power and had to hide somewhere. Since the Vanguard was becoming too brutal and powerful, she felt that this being was the only way to stop her father. As a result…"

"How'd you get involved in this?" Sheena blinked.

"She can't protect Ratatosk on her own. I made a pact with her, allowing me to access part of his power so that his body will be safe." Emil responded. "According to her, I'm now the Knight of Ratatosk."

"Weird title." Zelos grinned.

"Really, Zelos? We don't have the time to complain about bad titles!" Luke stated. "Ratatosk is a member of the Pentagram, for crying out loud. If Marta just goes ahead and walks back to the Vanguard, there's going to be no way to stop him!"

"Right. They're going to be at the amusement park, so that does bring us an advantage." Kiryll folded his arms. "With the amount of people here…we can form three teams."

"What's your plan?" Yuri looked interested.

"Sheena, you take Zelos and Arche and look for the bombs around the city." He started. "If you can't deactivate them, at least make sure that everyone is far away from them as possible. Get the rest of Ad Libitum to help."

"My Mizuho scouts should be able to find all of them!" Sheena turned to the others. "Let's go!"

"Hahaha…so, I'm going to be aiding a couple of beauties?" Zelos grinned. "You'll have nothing to worry about-"

***Ear grab***

"Come on…"

Everyone watched as Arche dragged Zelos toward the elevator, and then threw him into it. Sheena joined Arche as they discussed a plan in the descending elevator. Once they were long gone, everyone turned back to Kiryll, who looked at the others in the room.

"We know that the Vanguard is at the amusement park. If that's true, then that plays to our advantage." He looked around. "I'll lead my team into the park and rescue Marta directly."

"Then I'll be part of the team." Emil stated. "Marta is my responsibility."

"Of course." He nodded. "Leon, Luke, I'm taking you two as well."

"Wait a minute!" Stahn jumped. "What about the rest of us?"

"You, Yuri and Rita are the backup, of course." Kiryll nodded. "But on a more serious note, I want you three to check the casino."

"The casino?" Rita blinked.

"Something's telling me that their plan is centered around that area. Since they know that we're here, there's no way they're going to keep the detonator of the bombs in the same room as Marta." He explained. "Yuri, you're in charge of them."

"I can do that." He grinned. "Let's go."

Yuri dragged his group into the elevator, the door closing behind them. In retaliation, Emil and Luke headed toward the stairs. Kiryll was about to follow them when he realized that Leon was slow in following them. He turned around and realized that he looked troubled.

"Ratatosk is the ruler of every beast on this planet." Leon said to him. "It doesn't matter how strong someone is…they can never take down every single monster."

"Do you think the Vanguard is planning to use him to control all those monsters?" Kiryll asked.

"Either that…or they're planning of tapping into his power." He shook his head. "Nevermind. We should head over to the park."

"" "" ""

"I'm here now. Are you satisfied?"

The Vanguard soldiers looked up to see Marta walking through the crowd toward her father. He couldn't help but smile in his noble glory, in his robes and staff. She could feel her forehead pulse in reaction to him.

"Ah, there you are Marta." He said. "Finally…the princess of the Sylvarant Dynasty."

"Only because I'm expecting you to hold your end of the bargain."

"Yes, of course…the city will be freed." Brute smiled. "If you will be so kind as to give me Ratatosk's power."

"Taking over a kingdom through force will not make the people follow you!" She answered.

"I see that hanging out with lowly peasants has clouded your mind…" He stated. "No matter. I have a way to make you see the light."

A water orb hovered next to him, revealing the image of Alice holding her rapier to a hostage. She seemed to be unconscious, with short white hair and a long red dress, her hands and feet chained to the ceiling and floor…

"Astrid!"

"I'll give you some time to think. You have until midnight." Brute sat down. "Think all you want."

"" "" ""

**Damn, school's coming up soon…these updates are going to SLOW DOWN like you won't believe…**


	60. The Plan is Executed

**Marta has a choice: give herself to Ratatosk, or Astrid will die with the city. Meanwhile, Kiryll has three teams running around trying to save the city. Will they find out what's going on before it's too late?**

"" "" ""

When Yuri's group headed over to the casino, they were surprised to see that there were so many people guarding the gates. Fortunately, Yuri was quick to find a back entrance, and before they knew it, they had slipped into the lobby of the casino.

"_Yep, there's definitely something up here."_ Yuri looked around.

"_Where should we head off to?"_ Stahn hid behind one of the tables. _"Further back in?"_

"_On my count. We're going into the basements."_

"_Cause they ALWAYS hide something there."_ Rita mumbled.

The three of them watched as the soldiers wandered around the casino for their search, before darting into one of the doors. After going through all of the hallways, Stahn tumbled down a couple of staircases. Yuri and Rita followed him and saw him nearly unconscious at the end of the stairs.

"Idiot." Rita sighed. "You could've gotten us noticed!"

"Ow…no worries, I'm fine." Stahn looked up. "Hey, look at that! I though the security would be tight here!"

"Yeah, I know…considering how this is a…" Yuri looked around. _**"Prison?"**_

"Why in the world would there be a prison here?" Stahn stood up.

"A prison below an extremely busy casino…" Rita sighed. _"What a way to run a business, Lezareno."_

"OK, let's leave questioning the architect's logic for later." Yuri peeked around the edges. "We got a prison to infiltrate."

_What in the world is Kiryll looking for here?_ Stahn turned around as Rita passed him.

"" "" ""

Kiryll had to admit: the amusement park looked pretty nice…if they weren't being swarmed by Vanguard soldiers.

As the four of them walked toward the entrance of the amusement park, they noticed two Vanguard soldiers standing as guards. They hid toward the side, away from their gaze. Before he had the chance to say anything, he looked up and noticed that something was heading toward them. Luke jumped.

"_A…a monster? At a time like this?"_

"_Don't worry."_ Emil lifted his arm. _"It's for me."_

Kiryll watched as the monster _(which he quickly identified as a Raven)_ landed on Emil's arm. They looked like they were talking in some random language before he sent the Raven on its way. Luke and Leon stared at it as it flew back over the amusement park.

"He said that Marta is being held in the middle of the amusement park." He dictated. "The leader Brute is with her too…the security around them is packed."

"At this rate, we won't be able to just sneak through all of them and get her out." Leon looked at the entrance. "Barging through the entrance isn't a good option either."

"Flying isn't a good option either." Kiryll looked up at the sky. "The last thing we need to do is get ourselves hunted down."

"…Hey, Kiryll?" Luke looked at him. "Is there any type of fire source around them?"

"Fire…source?" He peeked around to the entrance. "One of them has a lighter…he probably smokes."

"Good. I can probably get us in there." Luke walked past Kiryll. "You guys might want to back up."

Everyone quickly backed up as Luke rolled his shoulders. Suddenly, he vanished in a warp of fire _(startling the heck out of everyone…except Leon, because apparently he doesn't have the ability to be startled)_. They headed toward the edge to watch the two soldiers talking to themselves. He noticed that both of them were getting bored and one of them was going to light a cigarette. As he opened his lighter, the flame suddenly exploded in front of their faces.

_Whoa!_ Kiryll jumped.

The flame parted, creating the image of Luke. He drop-kicked both of the soldiers before signaling the rest that it was safe to enter. The three of them hesitantly entered the area and ducked away from the unconscious guards, heading toward the ticket booths.

"What the heck was that, Luke?" Kiryll blinked. "You just…teleported from the fire."

"Heh…it's my ability, **'Fonon'. **I can manipulate any type of fonon to my frequency, allowing me to synchronize it with my mana." Luke stated. "Just recently, I learned that I can use it to recreate my body in whatever situation goes on."

"Like teleportation?" Emil asked.

"Like teleportation…only over short distances." He answered.

"If you can deal with any type of fonons, then why would you ask if they had a fire source?" Kiryll asked.

"Well, the Fifth Fonon is the easiest of all of them to manipulate. It doesn't put as much strain on my body." Luke smiled. "It might be because I have Lorelei's power?"

"Most likely. Lorelei is a being of the Seventh Fonon, the strongest out of all known fonons in this world. It's the same as Emil being able to control monsters under Ratatosk's power." Leon stated. "Just that bit of ability is all the Vanguard needs to do whatever it is they're planning."

"It's the Pentagram. One being alone can wipe out a country without even trying." Emil stated. "Thank goodness Marta seems to be holding her ground."

"In that case, we better get her out of there before she's offered a bargain she can't refuse." Kiryll smiled. "Let's go."

"" "" ""

"Is it just me…or does this place look more like an underground passageway?" Stahn blinked.

"Yeah, it does." Rita looked around. "Hey, do you think that there're hostages here?"

"They're after Marta. Knowing the Vanguard, it'll swoop that low." Yuri grinned. "I'm betting gald that they're being held on the lowest level of this place."

"In that case…" Stahn drew his blade. "Let's be heroes!"

Yuri could only roll his eyes as he and his group headed deep into the alleyways. Fortunately, they were able to knock down any Vanguard who were unfortunate enough to notice their approach. After a minute, they found an elevator that could descend onto the lower floors.

"All right, we're going in."

"Hold up, Stahn. No need to start charging into everything." Yuri lifted his arm. "This is Lezareno, right? There's bound to be security, and we'll be caught in no time."

"So we just have to deactivate the security cameras." Rita folded her arms. "We might as well go look for the security room. Knocking out cameras is bound to catch attention."

"Right. It's probably going to be on this floor, since it's going to stand as a screening area." Yuri looked around. "That door, right there."

"Huh?" Stahn turned his head. "What makes you say that?"

"Stahn, it says 'SECURITY' over it and it's surrounded by yellow paint." Rita rolled her eyes. "If that doesn't buy you…just trust your gut."

Stahn rolled his eyes as they entered the security room. As Yuri opened the door, they noticed one Vanguard soldier inside. He began screaming "intruders!" as he charged toward them, blade in hand. Of course, Yuri was quick to knock him out, meaning that they had full access to the security functions. Rita went to the machines and quickly started typing something.

"Hold on…it'll take me a while to disarm the security systems." She stated.

"Wait a minute…we're going to need more than security disarmament." Yuri went to the other side of the machine. "Give me a minute. I'll see if there're any blueprints of this building."

"Huh…I never knew you were good with machines, Yuri." Stahn looked confused.

"He's not." Rita looked at him. "Seriously, this isn't a child's toy. One wrong move and you'll-"

"Done." Yuri pressed a button. "We got the layout."

Everyone looked up to the monitors that held blueprints of the entire building, from the top of the casino to the lowest level of the basement. The top seemed to hold the president's office _(they concluded that they're going to have to check that later)_, while the lowest level showed a prison.

"Hey, Rita." Yuri turned to her. "Can you access the cameras to the prisons?"

"Uh…sure, let me check." She pressed a few buttons and looked at the monitors. "That's weird…nothing but Vanguard soldiers."

"You sure?" Stahn looked at them. "Wow…for being such a cautious organization, the security really sucks in this place."

"It usually means that we have no other reason to be here." Rita sighed. "Why in the world would Kiryll send us here?"

"There's only one other place to look." Yuri looked at the buttons in front of Rita. "Here…check the office."

She looked confused, but pressed the button anyway. Instantly, one of the monitors flipped images to the office. They were shocked to find the image of Alice walking around the room talking about something unmeaning to another being in the room. They focused the camera on the other person, noticing that a Living Sword was pressing up against her neck, and that she was chained to the walls…

"Is that Astrid?" Stahn leaned toward the monitor. "Holy crap, they have her hostage!"

"With a bargain like that, Marta won't be able to refuse any offer they give her." Yuri pressed a few buttons. "Look at this: there's an elevator that leads straight to the office."

"Meaning that security is going to be extra tight around there." Rita answered. "Our best bet is to take the emergency staircase and go up one floor at a time."

"Hopefully, there aren't that many soldiers." Stahn flipped through the cameras. "We should be able to push our way to the top."

"Good. Now, let's not waste any time." Yuri turned off the machines. "The longer we wait, the closer Marta gets to handing over Ratatosk."

"" "" ""

Kiryll couldn't help but be impressed by Emil's monsters. As the four of them headed closer to the center of the park, he watched as he commanded four of them at the same time to literally mow down rows of soldiers. Leon had to interfere once, but that was about it.

"Hey, Kiryll." Luke leaned to him. "Do you know what monsters he's controlling here?"

"Um…I see a Treant-" He cringed as it mowed down more of the soldiers. "An…Orion. Oh, I think that's an Aello. And…who's the last one? Looks like a Sea Wyvern. Huh, he must've gotten it recently."

"Those are huge monsters! I can't believe that Emil can handle them!" Luke followed Emil.

"That's his power as a borrower of Ratatosk's abilities." Leon followed them. "It's the same way that you have the ability to control the Seventh Fonon, the Fonon of Lorelei."

"I see…" Luke blinked. "So Marta borrows his power as well, then."

"That's what confuses me. Marta uses his power to cast spells, since ordinary Sylvaranti humans can't cast." Leon stated. "But in that case, she should be able to hold the **'Chain'** ability. Why only Emil has it…"

"I can't say anything for certain, but for now, we should focus on Marta." Kiryll looked ahead of them. "Here he is."

Everyone looked up to see Marta and Brute being surrounded by Vanguard soldiers. As the Aello slapped them out of the way, Marta turned her head to see Emil run through the crowd, his blade in hand. Luke and Leon smacked the others that tried to approach them.

"Emil!" She gasped.

"Marta!" He called back. "We're here to save you!"

"You will go no step farther." Brute lifted his staff. "Marta will be working with us! You peasants will not interfere with her anymore!"

"She's coming with us, Brute. Whether you like it or not." Leon drew his blade.

"You don't understand, Leon." He pointed to the screen. "You can't refuse this."

Everyone turned toward the water orb as an image formed on it. It showed Astrid at the mercy of Alice and her monsters, seals placed on her cuffs to make her unable to cast spells. Kiryll turned his head to see that Leon was twitching in place; the only motion that he can do that didn't involve ripping Brute's throat out.

"Now, if you would be so kind as to throw down your weapons…" Brute smiled. "I won't harm Astrid."

Kiryll looked at the orb for a minute before smiling at Brute. Before anyone was able to say anything, the image showed Fireballs flying toward the chains. Alice was going to attack when she began to go into a duel with Yuri. Rita blasted all of the monsters out of the way as Stahn charged through to unlock Astrid's shackles. On that visual, Marta stood up and ran behind Emil. Brute could only growl as Kiryll held onto his cross.

"Now then…shall we begin?"

"Don't look so smug, Wild Card! We still have you!" One of the men charged through. "We still have the detonator for the bombs in this city! One wrong move and the city goes to bits!"

"Detonator?" Kiryll laughed. "What, this?"

He lifted his hand, revealing that he had the detonator. The man looked all over his body, shocked that he was robbed. Before he could say anything, he looked up and saw Arche flying overhead, laughing as if it was a joke. Brute glared at Kiryll, who smiled. All around them were knocked out Vanguard soldiers. Kiryll's foot was actually over the man who had the detonator.

"You lost this round, Commander." He stated. "By my guesses, the fact that there are royal figures in this city means that the armies of Phandaria, Kimlasca and Zaphias will be heading here any minute now. You want to leave now, before you get stopped?"

"No, no, no. We shouldn't let that happen."

The voice sounded oddly familiar. The Vanguard began to glow and float into the air, vanishing before everyone's eyes. When the lights faded, Kiryll saw one figure hovering over their heads. He instantly realized who he was, with his gold/silver hair and red eyes…contrasting his wings.

"Zachriel?" Kiryll blinked. "Where'd you take the Vanguard?"

"None of your business, Kiryll Nightroad." His voice sounded cold. "I thought that you didn't care about saving the world."

"I do, Zachriel." He said. "Why would I do all of this otherwise?"

"Oh, that's interesting. He really did want to save this city." He laughed. _"So there is still a little part of him left."_

"What are you-?"

But Zac had flown away before he could ask any more.

"" "" ""

**Oh dear…what's going on now?**


	61. His Other Self

**So Zackie's got a bad side! And apparently he's stating something about Kiryll's true self! Meanwhile I sit here eating cake! Wonder what all of this means?**

"" "" ""

When Kiryll returned to the hotel, he noticed that the Tethe'allan soldiers had entered the city and were escorting people to safety. His companions quickly joined the mass to reunite with friends, leaving him alone. He looked at the amusement park, Zachriel's words hovering in his mind.

"_**So there's a little part of him left."**_

_What did he mean by that? Does he know who I am?_ He rubbed his chin. _He's part of the Star Order, so it might mean that he was planning to use my powers as a Wild Card…but…_

"Kiryll?"

"Huh?" He looked up. "Oh…Norma. How is everyone?"

"A few of the tourists are a little traumatized, but it's mostly because all of the Vanguard soldiers just vanished into thin air." She turned to Kiryll. "I have to admit it: I never knew you could teleport so many people out of the city like that!"

"Huh?" He looked startled.

"I just had a talk with Arche! She said that you planned everything: from finding the bombs to rescuing Astrid!" She answered. "Though why would you do that if you could just get the Vanguard out?"

"Norma, that wasn't me." He answered. "That was Zachriel."

"Zackie? You serious?" She looked surprised. "I was wondering where he was when Chat was doing a head count…I never knew that he was that powerful…"

"He really is…" Kiryll nodded. "It basically means that the World Tree is still strong enough to give life to this world…"

"OK…what?"

"The Descender is nothing more than a connection to the World Tree. When the Tree is strong, so is the Descender, and the opposite is true as well."

"That's great! That means that Zachriel is strong enough to save the world from the Vanguard!" She chirped. "It leaves us with all the time in the world to find your memories!"

"Yeah…true."

His attention was drawn to Astrid, who seemed to be looking for someone. She bumped into Leon, who seemed to mutter something to her before walking off toward Marian. She was repeating the same apology, so Kiryll assumed that he told her to get out of the way. He wondered if he should tell her how worried Leon was about her.

"Hey, Norma. Do you know if the Vanguard took Regal?"

"Regal? Um…yeah, now that you mention it…" She blinked. "The Tethe'allan soldiers found him in the casino when they were picking up Astrid. He's in the hotel with the others."

"OK, that's good. At least he's safe…this is his city, of course."

"True…being rich and powerful always come attached with the** 'Most Likely to be Kidnapped and Held for Ransom' **logo, huh?"

"It doesn't have to always be like that-"

A chill suddenly ran through his back as a sudden spike of mana smacked the back of his mind. He turned his head and saw a strange shadow looming on top of one of the buildings. The shadow was bloodthirsty…beckoning him with an invisible message…

"_Crap."_ He mumbled.

"Kiryll?" Norma looked worried. "What's going on?"

"Get everyone into the city. And whatever you do, _**do not**__ let anyone out until I get back._ _Now__."_

Norma didn't have any chance of asking him when he suddenly dashed off on his own toward Altamira's entrance. It was then that she suddenly realized that one of the shadows on the ground had quickly vanished. Panicking, she quickly turned and ran toward the hotel.

"" "" ""

After a long dash, he found himself a good distance away from Altamira. The familiar shadow appeared over one of the branches of the trees, making him look back up to him. The white moon quickly allowed him to get the shape of the shadow, but all that he needed to see was the bones…

"_Guede."_ He muttered.

"So you do remember me. How nice of you." He jumped in front of him. "You know, it took me forever to try and find you? If it hadn't been for a surge of your mana, I probably would've never found you."

_Surge of my mana? I barely used anything!_ "Well, if you were having such a hard time, I guess that means that I was doing my job."

"Well, finding you was mine, after what you did to me." Guede gestured toward his empty Key Crest. "If you wanted to kill me, you did a horrible job at it."

It was then that Kiryll remembered the other memory that he obtained. The other voice that was screaming at him…the one that was asking why he destroyed his Cruxis Crystal…yes, it was definitely Guede. His answer…what was his answer again?

"I did it…to save your life." He answered out loud.

"That's what you told me the last time." Guede spat. "You mind filling me in on what you meant by that?"

"Guede-"

"And don't go on with your _**'Tainted by Angelus'**_ theory, either! Angelus no longer exists!"

_Tainted by Angelus…? What is he…?_

Guede suddenly lunged onto him, forcing Kiryll to summon his scythe. They were clashing each other for what seemed to be hours. At the same time, his mind was exploding with déjà vu. They were fighting the same as last time. He went like this, lunged toward his arm to let him drop his scythe, only to be…

"Give me an answer, dammit!" Guede ordered. "What did you do to me?"

"I don't know!" He answered. "I'm telling you that I have no idea who I am and what the hell I did to you!"

"Then I might as well **POUND** that memory right back into you! _**Black Thunder!"**_

_Crap! I have to counter-! __**"Fonon Resonance!"**_

Guede's bone hand started to create black lightning bolts, shooting straight toward Kiryll. His scythe transformed into a gold shield, blocking all of the lighting coming toward him. When Kiryll lowered his arm, the lightning had been transformed into pure fonons. He transformed the shield into a broadsword and swung it through the cloud, letting the fonons gather into its blade. Suddenly, he slashed the ground, and a huge energy ball zoomed toward Guede. He jumped into the air to dodge, only to watch as it jumped after him and collided. He collapsed into the ground.

_Did I get him?_ Kiryll blinked. _He's…he's moving!_

"Damn…you still have those powers…" Guede stood up. "Tch. And here I thought that you restricted them, like last time."

_Restricted..? Wait…my other memories, when I didn't have any abilities…were they just-?_

"That's enough, Guede. Don't go fighting your other half."

The both of them looked up to see Zachriel hovering over them, his near flawless wings flapping in pure silence as if they were just air. He was smiling at the both of them while he was running his fingers through his silver hair. What shocked Kiryll was that as he was running his fingers, the silver was turning black. Kiryll turned to Guede, who was now so shocked that it looked…un-Guede _(if that was a word)_.

"A-Angelus?" He gasped. "You're supposed to be dead!"

_Angelus?_ Kiryll darted his head toward Zachriel. _**HE'S **__Angelus?_

"Like I would die from an attack such as that." He responded with a _hmph._ "Remember…your powers are no longer connected to mine. You have no chance of killing me."

_Guede and Zachriel…are connected to each other?_ Kiryll gasped. _What in the world is going on…?_

"So Angelus is still alive…that explains the crap that he's been giving me." Guede turned to Kiryll. "You knew about Angelus?"

"Angelus? Look, that's Zachriel! I have no idea what's going on!"

"Oh yeah, that's right. You're still jogging the old memory, aren't you?" He laughed. "How're you doing with that?"

_What the hell is going on…?_ Kiryll held his head.

"Maybe if I jog your memory a little bit…"Zachriel lifted his hand. _**"White Meteor!"**_

Kiryll looked up as he threw three meteors of white fire toward him. He was about to dodge when he felt something snap in his brain: _**this was familiar to him.**_ Suddenly, he felt something hit him, but it wasn't from the meteor. It snapped him back into his senses, and he looked up to see Yuri, holding his side.

"You all right?" He asked.

"Just…startled." Kiryll answered.

"Kiryll! You alive?"

He looked up to see Stahn, Zelos and Norma running toward him, Arche flying overhead. Guede looked startled by the sudden audience, but for some odd reason, Zachriel didn't seem the least bit phased by what was going on. His gaze fell onto the redhead.

"Ah, yes. The heron of House Wilder." He rubbed his chin. "It must be sad…being such an outsider in your own family."

"Zac?" Zelos looked at Guede. "You? Thank god that Norma brought me, then! I'm so taking you down!"

"No need, Zelos. I was just going to handle him." Zachriel turned to Kiryll. "Can you stand, Kiryll?"

_What the hell is going on?_ Kiryll squirmed out of Yuri's hold. "Whose side are you on, anyway?"

"The side of peace, of course." Zachriel lifted a tarot card. "In order for me to achieve peace…I'm going to need you."

_A tarot card?_

Zachriel immediately shattered the card, and Kiryll suddenly lost consciousness. Yuri was about to shake him when he noticed that his appearance was changing: to the form that accepted Dist's proposal at the Iselia Human Ranch, to the form that attacked Chloe and Sheena when they attacked him…to the form…

"His other self…" Yuri ran to the others. "This is it! This is his other form!"

"What, you serious?" Stahn gasped. "The one back at the Human Ranch?"

"The Awakened Version…" Guede growled. "Damn."

"Damn is right, Guede." Kiryll and Zachriel said at the same time. "You should be worried. You've been causing some harm to the people of this world…and for that you'll have to pay."

Everyone watched as Zachriel lifted his fingers and twitched them, and Kiryll bending to each and every will that he wanted him to. Norma was staring at the Descender the entire time, wondering just what in the world was going on. After a few long minutes, Guede was forced to retreat.

"Hey-!"

Arche was about to fly after him when she barely dodged an arrow. She looked down and saw that Kiryll was firing at her, an evil smile on his face. Everyone else had to dodge his quick attacks, accompanied by his maniacal laughter.

"Zac! What the hell did you do to Kiryll?" Stahn screamed at him.

"I don't know! I only gave him a power boost!" He answered _(more like __**LIED THROUGH HIS TEETH,**__ but whatever)_. "I can't control him!"

Norma looked up and saw that while Kiryll was fighting them, Zachriel's fingers were twitching as if he was still controlling him. She growled under her breath. _The son of a bitch actually wants to kill all of them!_ She quickly blew as many bubbles as she could at him, two of them being fortunate enough to lock his hands. Instantly, Kiryll stopped and he fell to the ground.

"At least I tamed him." She answered.

"My power must've seeped into him." Zachriel looked at the bubbles locking his hands. "I must thank you, Norma. I never would've thought about that."

"OK, whatever the hell you did to Kiryll, you should've be doing again!" Arche yelled at him. "What the hell was that, anyway?"

"I told you, it was merely a power boost." He lied again. "Now then…"

He quickly vanished before anyone had a chance to bombard him with more questions. Stahn and Zelos started to swear to the sky for him to come back, Zelos even going so far as to fly where he was and scream at the top of his lungs. All that got him to do was attract more attention.

"Good, more people." Yuri looked down to Kiryll. "We should bring him back to Altamira."

"" "" ""

**WHOA. Didn't see that coming.**


	62. A Few More Questions to Ask :HANGED MAN:

**Kiryll's other self…the part that he deemed dangerous to everyone…connected to Zachriel? And what did Guede mean for calling him Angelus?**

"" "" ""

He opened his eyes and found himself in a room, instantly recognizing it as a hotel room in Altamira. He turned his head and saw that _(for the first time in a while)_, he was alone. He sat up and looked down to his hands, twitching to the beat that his mind was telling them to. His body was under his control…for now.

_Zachriel…no wait…Angelus?_ He sighed and shook his head. _Is the Descender really surrounded by so many mysteries?_

He flipped off the covers that covered his legs and dangled his feet over the edge of the bed, his mind still deep in thoughts. By what Zachriel told him, he was connected to Guede in some way. Not only that, but with only one tarot card, he was able to manipulate his other self. There could only be one possible explanation for this…

"Are you all right?"

He almost screamed. He ended up nearly falling off the bed. Looking up, he saw that Chloe was walking out of one of the shadow of the windowsill. Unconsciously, his hand went up to his Cruxis Crystal, feeling that the gem was still where it belonged. He sighed and smiled.

"It's not like you to be watching over me like that." He stated.

"Everyone's been worried about you. I mean, you were found passed out just outside of Altamira." She answered. "What in the world happened to you?"

_I guess none of them told her what happened._ "I…can't really remember. Sorry."

"Can't remember? Don't tell me that you blacked out from being attacked by monsters!" Chloe folded her arms. "You, Kiryll Nightroad, do not black out from monster attacks."

"No…I uh…probably remembered something. That's all."

It wasn't _that_ far from the truth, so he didn't feel like he was lying. If Chloe had suspicions on what she was hearing, he was fortunate enough not to be asked about it. It was then that he realized that someone else had entered the room. He turned around and saw that it was a young man with spiky white hair. _What was his name again…?_

"Oh, Senel." She quickly remarked. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard that you were up here, so I decided to check on you and see if you're all right." He answered. "Oh, Kiryll. You're awake."

"Yes…yes I am." His eyes turned to Chloe, who looked oddly embarrassed. "How're the others?"

"No one's hurt, thank the heavens." Senel nodded. "The only one that seemed in pain was you."

"That's good to hear…I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to them." Kiryll shook his head. "I should go meet up with them-"

"You don't have to, Kiryll. Stahn asked me to check up on you too." He turned around and headed toward the door. "Oh yeah, Chloe? I'm heading off to the buffet that the hotel opened up. You want anything?"

"Oh, uh…" She seemed to be blushing. "N-no, it's fine…"

"Oh…all right." Senel smiled. "All right, I'll see you soon."

He slowly closed the door behind him. Once they were alone, Kiryll couldn't help but take a glance at Chloe, who still seemed to be blushing as she was staring at the door. She turned toward him, who had a sly grin on his face and was quietly chuckling.

"Shut up, Kiryll."

"I didn't say anything." He stood up. "You sure that you don't want anything?"

"I'm sure." She answered, still flustered.

"How about some medicine?"

"M-medicine?"

"For your fever." Kiryll grinned. "I mean, your face is completely red."

Chloe's face got even redder, making Kiryll laugh out loud even more. He reached over to the door handle, but not noticing that it swung open and smacked his face. He backed up and rubbed his forehead, noticing that Norma was on the other side.

"Oh, you're awake?" She looked over to him.

"_Just…barely."_ Kiryll rubbed his nose. _"Heh…got me good."_

"I see…" She turned to Chloe. "Oh hey, C. I didn't know that you were here!"

"What do you want, Norma?" She grumbled.

"I just wanted to check up on Kir here. I was sure that he was alone though…" Norma slyly grinned at Chloe. "You weren't doing anything to him, were you?"

"…_Kir?"_

"W-what? What are you talking about?"

"Oh wow, C! I never knew that he was your type!"

"N-Norma! You're insane! He is not my type!"

"_Kir?"_

"Oh, not your type? Then why in the world were you watching him all alone in his room?"

"W-what? I-"

"She just wanted to protect me, that's all. There're thousands of Hunters still running around, you know." Kiryll stood up, pushing the question into the back of his mind. "She did it from the bottom of her heart."

"Gack-! _K-Kiryll, you're not making this situation any better!"_ Chloe tried to hint.

"Oh, I see…" Norma giggled. "She's your type, isn't she?"

"My…type?" He tilted his head. "What are you talking about?"

"Your preference? You know…the type of girl that you like?" Norma looked confused.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I like hanging out with all sorts of girls." Kiryll stated, his voice nonsarcastic. "I don't think it's nice for guys to befriend specific women, you know."

"You obviously don't get the hint…" Norma suddenly gasped, her hands to her mouth. "Oh, now I remember! You're into _**guys!"**_

**THAT** hit the mark.

"Yeah, now I remember! I was talking to Yuri and he was mentioning how you seemed so close to this one guy from your memories!" She blurted out of nowhere. "Man, and here I thought I knew that old saying about hot guys…"

"N-no, you got it all wrong, really!" He panicked. "I…don't think like that!"

"Really? Come on, you can't notice attraction for your life and yet you call yourself a man? Sheesh, how oblivious can you get?" Norma laughed.

_This conversation is getting really awkward._ Chloe sighed. "Seriously…what are you up here for?"

"Like I told you, I just wanted to check up on Kir!" She turned to the door. "Now, if you excuse me, I'm heading off to the buffet! All-you-can-eat lobster and crab!"

She turned and ran toward the door. Kiryll watched as she ran out to the elevator before hearing a shattering card in his mind. The image of the Hanging Man tarot card hovered in his brain, surrounded by a warm, light blue glow and bright sparkles. _Well, that's new._

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I. I, THE MAN HANGING ABOVE THE WORLD, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND. AND WHEN THE TIME COMES…I WILL GET STRONGER, SO THAT YOU WILL FIND THE TRUTH…"**

The card vanished from his mind, and he blinked to straighten his senses. He turned his head and saw a somewhat traumatized Chloe staring right back at him. Kiryll sighed and tries his best to hide his trauma and shock as well though one of his smiles.

"I'm not into guys…really."

"Uh…yeah, I-I thought so. Y-you didn't look like the type."

"…Don't tell me that you actually thought about that."

"N-no, I didn't! Really!"

"Sigh…well, I don't know what to think about it, but I'm heading off to the buffet. Remind me to avoid Norma for the rest of the night."

"Huh, what?"

"Hey, you're hungry too, aren't you? Come on."

"" "" ""

The buffet was CROWDED with Ad Libitum members. Kiryll nearly forgot that he was actually in a hotel, before he realized that the cafeteria back in the ship looked nothing like the high windowed, extra decorated place that was this grand hall. As he entered, he was greeted with the familiar image of Zelos Wilder hitting on a group of young women. They looked really happy about it.

_Since when does talking make girls blush like that?_ He thought. _I'll never understand you, Zelos._

He walked away and headed toward the buffet line, sighing because the line to it was LONG. After a few minutes, he gave up and decided to hang out with the crowd that was next to it. It was then that he realized that there was music in the air, and that it was a party going on. He wondered how it took him so long to figure that out, since everyone was in formal attire.

"Hey, look who's awake!"

Kiryll looked up and saw Stahn walking toward him with a grin on his face and a plate filled with food in his hand. He was still wearing his armor, so Kiryll didn't feel totally left out of the party.

"Hey, Stahn." He smiled. "I see you got your fair share of dinner."

"Yes I have! Hotel food is usually one of the best." Stahn wiped his mouth. "And this is a tourist attraction, so…"

"All right, I get it. At least tell me that you left some grub for everyone else!"

"I did, I did! Here, this is for you!" Stahn lifted him the filled plate. "I just guessed on what you liked, so…"

"Nah, it's fine. I'll eat anything that's edible." Kiryll looked at it. "Huh. Looks good enough. I'll take it."

"Hah…_'looks good enough'?_ You never know, man! I might've laced the chicken with poison or something!"

"Then it'll be on your head."

Kiryll didn't hesitate when he shoved the chicken in his mouth. Stahn saw him eat the food so quickly that he thought that he just ended a fasting or something. Suddenly, a look of strain passed his golden eyes. Stahn gasped as Kiryll dropped to his knees.

"H-hey! I was kidding about the poison!" Stahn panicked. "Hey, are you all right?"

"…Y-yeah." Kiryll swallowed and sighed. "Loose bone, that's all."

"Oh, thank god! Here I thought that after all the attempts on your life, it's food poisoning that kills you!"

"I'm not that weak. It'll take more than bad cooking and a loose bone to kill me." Kiryll grinned. "So…is there anything else from the buffet line?"

"You're insane, man." Stahn laughed. "But if you want, there's plenty of them!"

Kiryll laughed before he headed off toward the buffet line. He smiled when he saw that the line was a lot shorter than before, but frowned when he realized that the first half of the buffet itself was empty _(seriously, even the bins were clean, as if they were never used)_. He sighed.

_So much for eating good food tonight…_

"Are you all right?"

He turned his head and saw Zelos looking back at him with a concerned look on his face and without any type of woman swarming at his side. Kiryll smiled, trying to calm him down and knowing that he's failing horribly.

"Yeah, I'm fine Zelos. You don't have to worry about it."

"Guede attacked you, Kiryll. If it hadn't been for us, he could've killed you! Why aren't you worried?" He asked. He actually sounded serious for once.

"That's not really what I'm worried about." Kiryll stated. "It's about Zachriel."

"Zac? The guy that apparently turned you into a psycho serial killer?"

"Yeah, him. Guede referred to him under another name…"

"What's the name?"

"…Angelus."

A crash echoed behind him. He turned his attention and saw that Rita had dropped her plate. She turned to him, and that's when Kiryll noticed that her face was completely pale. Kiryll's smile faded with her worry.

"Angelus?" She asked. "Are you sure that he said Angelus?"

"Yes. It was also mentioned in my memory, so he wasn't lying." Kiryll answered.

"_This isn't good…"_ She turned to the ground. "I was worried about that name…"

"What's going on?" Zelos asked.

"Kiryll, do you know the significance of that name?" Rita asked.

"Um…I think it means angel in some language." He answered.

"No, you don't know…" She sighed. "OK, we need to talk about this. Meet me out on the balcony in five minutes, and _don't be late.__"_

Before Kiryll could ask what was going on, she turned and ran back into the partying crowds. He looked around and saw that, to his dismay, there were _**eight balconies to choose from**__._ Which one was she referring to? After a few seconds, he decided to choose one at random. He started walking, only noticing that Zelos was following him.

"You want to hear this?" He asked.

"Hell yeah I do." He answered. "I have an eyewitness account to stuff that you don't remember, you know."

"Yeah…true." Kiryll nodded. "OK."

"" "" ""

**I just want to announce this to the world: I got the Hetalia bug. And it's not going away.**


	63. The Angelus Event :PRIESTESS:

**So what's going on with the name Angelus? Why does Rita say that it's a problem? And what does all of this have to do with Kiryll? One can only wonder.**

"" "" ""

When he went onto the balcony of his choice, he was surprised to notice that there wasn't anyone on it. He was expecting to see at least a couple making out or other individuals that came out for some privacy. But no, it was only him and Zelos on this lonely set of marble.

"Zelos…" Kiryll leaned on the railing. "Do you know anything about the name Angelus?"

"No more than what you told Rita." He answered. "That…and how to spell it."

"That's already more than what I know."

"What, you don't know how to spell Angelus? Come on, it's A-N-G-"

"I know how to spell it, thank you very much. But thank you for caring."

Zelos rolled his eyes with an if-you-say-so-look before staring back at the lively amusement park below them. The destruction in the place was surprisingly minimal _(aka there WAS none)_, so it was quickly reopened and people were allowed to take on the rides. His heron eyesight quickly noticed that Pascal and Flynn _(Guy? He couldn't tell from that far away)_ were on the teacup ride. She was spinning the cup so quickly that he was literally being thrashed about. _Huh, guess that is Flynn._

"Whoa, are your eyes glowing?" Zelos looked at him.

"Huh?" Kiryll turned to him. "You said something?"

"Hm…" _Ugh…I can't tell because of all these damn lights!_ "I-It's nothing. Forget it."

Kiryll stared at him with a blank look on his face before hearing footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw Rita was walking toward him, yet she was being accompanied by Tear. Both of them looked dead serious, shaking his confidence to the core.

"It's about time, Rita. What took you so long?" Zelos grumbled.

"I had to explain the situation to her. The Order's extremely knowledgeable when it comes to Angelus." Rita answered.

"The Order…?" Kiryll suddenly tensed.

"I was a Locrian Sergeant of the Oracle Knights Intelligence Division, yes. However, I wish to offer a personal truce between the both of us." Tear answered. "It's the least that I can offer you…for saving Luke and all."

"I…yes, of course I accept the truce." He answered. "Thank you."

"OK, personal worries aside, can we talk here?" Zelos sighed. "Tear, do you have any idea about what the heck Angelus is?"

"Of course I do. All members of the Star Order know who Angelus is." She answered. "Kiryll, are you sure that you heard the name Angelus?"

"Guede called the Descender that." Kiryll answered. "Apparently, I destroyed his Cruxis Crystal so that he wouldn't be 'tainted' by him."

"Hm…" Tear shook her head. "This isn't good."

"What's going on?" Zelos blinked.

"Angelus is an old name for a hyperresonance reaction, named because the sheer force of one was rumored to be equivalent to a beating of a Pentagram heron's wings." Rita folded her arms. "Scientifically speaking, a hyperresonance is the separation and the recombination of fonons that create an object. In fact, it's rumored to be so powerful that they could disintegrate anything back into mana."

"Disintegrate into mana? Whoa, how is that possible?" Zelos shivered.

"Mana's the basis of life, idiot. When enough mana is concentrated into a specific location, whether it's a Cruxis Crystal or even in the hands of a Pentagram member, it turns into a specific fonon. It's similar to how aer can be turned into mana by the use of blastia." She continued. "The same force that's needed to combine mana into fonons can also be used to separate them. So far, a hyperresonance is the only known way to do so."

"Actually, there's a story behind the name Angelus." Tear stated. "It has nothing to do with the Pentagram."

"No?" Kiryll looked up.

"It spawns back to the first ever hyperresonance that ever occurred. People assume that it led to the creation of this planet…and it did." Tear stated. "What ordinary people don't know is that _two_ hyperresonances happened, at the same time, at full power."

"**TWO** hyperresonances? At full power? That's impossible!" Rita jumped in. "One hyperresonance can destroy a whole continent at 40% of its maximum power! I can understand one of them creating life and mana, but if there was a second one, it should've destroyed all of life on this planet!"

"Yes, it should have destroyed this planet. But something had happened during that other hyperresonance…something that would end up becoming an underlying goal for all who study fomicry." Tear said. "The hyperresonance created the first Descender…the first being with life."

"_The birth of man…"_ Kiryll stared at her. "Wait, the first Descender? Would that mean that the hyperresonance created the World Tree as well?"

"No…the Descender actually created the World Tree as a mean of releasing his power…and in turn, it gave the planet life." Tear answered.

"_**Releasing his power…?"**_ Zelos blinked.

"The first Descender had absorbed all of the energy created by the hyperresonance, and thus was deemed a god among the people." She stated. "In turn, they gave him the name Angelus…the angel that created the world."

"_Angelus…"_ Kiryll looked down.

"As time went on, he learned that managing the world that he created was too much for one man to do, so he created two individuals to be his bodyguards…and share his limitless power. Those were to be his Persona, Aeternitas…and Guede." Tear nodded.

"_Guede…the man with the bone arm…"_ Kiryll looked up. "He's…Angelus' Persona."

"Yes. Though it seems that he had his limitless power severed from Angelus." Tear stated. "I don't know how that happened, though."

"I destroyed his Cruxis Crystal…a long time ago." Kiryll answered. "He said that it severed the connection between him and Angelus, but at the same time, I…said that I was saving his life."

"Being so close to Guede to do such a thing could only mean that you are a resident of the Genesis plane, the realm above the human plane, and where the Pentagram and Descender reside." Tear looked at him. "It's either that or…"

"Or…what?" Rita asked.

"…Nothing." She answered. "I'm probably still worried about Guede."

"OK, are we done here? Cause I have a party I want to go back to!" Zelos gestured to the crowd. "If you excuse me…I'm going to go now."

"Go ahead." Rita sighed. "No one's stopping you."

Zelos grinned, before prancing away toward the crowd of girls that was hovering just a few feet away from him. The three that were left sighed as he started hitting on everyone that was a female and was in a 200 foot radius. Rita sighed and walked on after him. Kiryll laughed as Rita tried to calm Zelos down _(via ear pulling)_, but then noticed that Tear was looking straight at him with a straight look on her face. His smile faded.

"I was waiting for the both of them to leave…I thought that you should be the only person to hear what I concluded."

"Um…w-what are you talking about?" Kiryll blinked.

"Don't play dumb, Kiryll. Playing denial isn't going to help your situation." Tear stated. "Think about it: Guede and Zachriel are both after you. You have powers that no heron can use or obtain."

"…I've thought about it, but…I didn't think that it could be possible." He looked down. "I mean, I have memories of a previous life. How would I be him if I used to be human?"

"The only person that knows all the details is you, Kiryll…or should I say Aeternitas?"

Kiryll cringed at the name as the back of his mind started to pound. His memories started to swirl around his head, all reacting to that name. At the same time, his current memories started to clash with those of the past. Nothing seemed to make any sense to him anymore. _Who…who am I?_

"Don't tell anyone else…please." He looked up to her. "Not a word."

"Of course. This is all just speculation, but it seems to be the best answer." Tear turned back to the hall. "All I can say to you is that you should not lose yourself to what you discover down the road."

"Right…"

Tear returned to the party as Kiryll returned to stargazing and observing the amusement park. The truth was that he was considering what he could do if in fact he was the Persona of Judgment, the being that gave every single person in this room the ability to think rationally for themselves. If that was his actual name, then what would it mean for the past life that he 'supposedly' remembers?

_No…no this couldn't be true. Personas are merely physical representations of the soul of the being that creates them. They're not supposed to have human thoughts or feelings at all._ Kiryll sighed. _I can understand what Guede is supposed to be…but there's no way that I could be a part of Zachriel. Or…_

"_**You're nothing more than a weapon, boy. Know your place!"**_

_Ack-!_ He straightened himself, balancing on the railing. _That's right…a Descender has the power of the Wild Card. If I have it, then it further explains why I have the ability as well. Am I just…_

"Hey, Kiryll! Don't tell me that you're going to pass out again!"

He looked up and saw Rita standing just a few feet away from him, an annoyed look on her face. Yet as she joined him on the railing, he noticed a strange glint in her eyes, as if she was worried that something was going to happen to him. He shook his head.

"I'm fine…guess I got a little sick from what Stahn gave me." He answered. "I thought you'd be chasing Zelos around."

"I would…but then I lost the sneaky bastard. I was looking for him when I saw you." She turned to him. "Are you sure that your brain wasn't bashed in too hard from your _'attack'?"_

"No, it's fine…" He looked down. "Hey, Rita…can I throw a rhetorical question to you?"

"Depends on what you're asking me."

"Of course, of course…" Kiryll looked up to the sky, refusing to make eye contact. "You know how Zachriel is the Descender and that he's here to stop the evil that supposed to come on this planet, right?"

"That's his duty…if he isn't the evil force that's coming on the planet."

"Right, right…well, I've been thinking about it for a while, and…I don't have memories of my past. I do have some, but they don't seem to tell me who I am."

"What the heck are you asking me, here?"

"Well…what would happen if the evil that the Descender is supposed to destroy…was me?"

He heard a quiet intake of breath, indicating that she was completely taken off guard. The stumbling footsteps also indicated that she almost fell over, stabilizing only after she had a grip on the railing. He grinned and chuckled under his breath, finding that to be quite funny.

"W-what…why in the world would you ask something like that to me?" She asked after a few minutes.

"Because you're not biased toward anything." He answered, still looking away. "If you were a close friend of mine, then of course you would think that I was either crazy or that we would have to think of another way to save the planet. You…you think with a level head, and I believe that you think of the both of us as acquaintances. Tell me the truth…I'm not afraid to hear it."

"Well…if you want to hear the truth…I think that you're over thinking everything." She sighed. "Since when does a strange sequence of events make you a bad guy?"

"Think about it…Zachriel is after me, and he's a Descender. Sure, there's a chance that he might be a little crazy in the head, but if he isn't, that means that he's labeling me as the source of misery." Kiryll stated. "Would it mean that I'm the reason why he's-?"

"I say suck it up and think about it with a rational head. People can't just change who they are just because they're bonked on the head and sent on their merry way." She stated. "If you really are evil, then there's no way that you would befriend half the people in that guild. All of them have that weird…sense that sees the good in people. If you have at least a smidgen of it, then there's no way that you're completely evil."

"Rita…"

"Sure, we might not be close friends, but that doesn't mean that I believe that it's safe for you to throw yourself into the fire." She stated. "Trust what you believe. If you're evil, then believe it and blow up a town or something. If you're a good-hearted being, then just continue doing what you do with Ad Libitum."

"…Good-hearted…"

"Oh, great…there's Zelos now." She sighed. "Allow me to snap his spine."

"Go right ahead."

Kiryll turned his head and saw Rita walk toward what looked like to be the image of Zelos. He couldn't help but laugh at how violent Rita was when it came to the flirtatious heron. Suddenly, he found himself glowing and a card shot out of his stomach. It bore the image of a woman with a strange priestess hat on her head.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** He was surprised. He never thought that Rita's voice could be so deep. **"I, THE PRIESTESS THAT SHOWS THE PATHS, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."**

The card sank back into his body and the glowing faded before anyone had a chance to react. He looked up as he saw Rita throw a Fireball at Zelos. He flew over everyone's heads and crashed on the other side of the party room. Kiryll ended up shivering before chuckling to himself.

_Yeah…be who I want to be. And Persona or not…I'll always be Kiryll Nightroad._ He smiled. _Nothing can change that…not even Angelus himself._

"" "" ""

**Plot twist, much? Sure, why not?**


	64. His Tightening Grip

**So Kiryll Nightroad has one more feature to add onto his list of ever growing identities. Sometimes, you wonder if this poor guy can even catch a break!**

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With the amount of money that he had obtained, he was able to buy a room in the hotel. It looked exactly the same as Arche's, only a little wider and with a bigger bed. He decided not to think about it as he removed his jacket, unbuttoned his collar shirt and sat down on the bed, almost sinking into it. He jumped back, startled.

"Whoa!" He pushed on the bed before jumping onto it. "Wow…I never knew beds could be this soft. I wonder why all beds aren't like this?"

He looked up at the dark ceiling and suddenly realized that he didn't turn on the lights. Sure it was extremely late at night and he should be sleeping at this time, but he figured that he might as well stay up and read that book that Jade had given him _(it was a famous novel, he stated…whatever 'famous' meant to him)_. Kiryll looked up and started to sit up.

"_**Whose will do you serve?"**_

His brain pulsed, and he collapsed back onto his bed.

"_**None but yours…my master."**_

He was biting his lip and holding his head, hoping that he doesn't scream and alarm anyone.

"_**Tell me the truth, Kyra. Please."**_

"_No…"_

"_**You were sent only to observe, not to interact with the beings below us."**_

"_No…no…"_

"_**Yet you allow yourself to be swayed to the will of a mere elf! This I cannot allow!"**_

"_Make it stop…"_

"_**Kyra…I'm not scared of him. I can handle whatever he throws at me."**_

"_Make it stop…please."_

"_**I'm not afraid anymore."**_

"_Make it stop…make it stop…"_

"_**You're nothing more than a soldier…under my command."**_

"**MAKE IT STOP!****"**

"" "" ""

Norma could not sleep at all. Instead, she decided to head out toward the 24-hour amusement park and tire herself out there. As she headed down to the lobby, she was shocked to see Zachriel talking to a few followers of the Star Order. She tensed up, catching his attention. He smiled and walked toward her.

"Ah, Norma." He said with an innocent voice. "I'm happy to see that nothing has happened to you. Kiryll didn't harm you, of course?"

"He didn't, _**thank goodness."**_ She answered, her voice dripping with poison. "Your 'power boost' didn't drive him too deep over the edge."

"Yes, well…the spell that I casted was supposed to maximize his body's ability to fight Guede. I wasn't expecting it to manipulate his mind as well." He chuckled. "An innocent mistake."

"Innocent, my ass! There's no way in hell that his mind would allow something like that!" She screamed. "What kind of mind trick did you put on him?"

"I'm telling you, it's just a minor reaction to my power." Zachriel stated. "I keep forgetting that it was reacting to an ordinary heron, and I used too much of my mana."

"Don't lie to me…" Norma growled. "You almost hurt Kiryll."

"Something that I apologize for. I would say it to his face, but I'm being called back to Daath." He smiled. "Tell him that I said sorry, OK?"

"You tell him."

Zachriel laughed, trying to dismiss the tension that Norma was forcing back up into the air. He nodded and smiled, admiring her spunk, before walking past her with a strange _'majestic noble'_ exit, much to the admiration of the Order followers.

"_**Maybe you should reconsider your thoughts about Kiryll Nighroad, Norma Beatty."**_

She froze, the air suddenly growing cold.

"_**Is he really as innocent as you think? Is he really someone that you can trust with your life? Answer that question…and then you'll know why I did this."**_

The tension in the air got so tight that Norma could barely feel her muscles move. She could only hear the door close behind Zachriel's exit before she collapsed onto her knees, shaking rapidly. The followers that he was talking to quickly followed his footsteps with sparkles in their eyes.

_Wha-why can't I move? He's…is he this powerful?_ She thought. _Do we have any chance on revealing his true colors? Who's going to believe us? What's going to happen to-_

Her mind suddenly snapped, her energy returning to her.

_Kiryll._

She threw herself up to her feet and ran as quickly as she could to the elevator. Once she was there, she started rapidly smack on the up button, muttering as many _"come on's"_ as her lungs can allow before deciding that she was going to dash up the stairs. As she rushed up the illuminated hallway, she barely missed Lloyd.

"Hey." He grumbled.

"Oh, Lloyd! Great timing!" She turned back to him. "Do you know where Kiryll's room is?"

"Two more floors up, Room 482." He answered.

"Thanks!"

She dashed up two more flights of stairs before finally stopping at the fork in the hallway. She looked up at the directions on the wall before dashing off toward the left. Her eyes quickly scanned the numbers on the doors before she finally found Room 482. Norma suddenly stopped in front of the door and knocked on it.

"Kiryll? Kiryll, you in there?" She asked. "Hey, can I talk to you about something?"

No reply.

_Is he sleeping? _She shivered. _Oh god, please tell me that he's sleeping._

After a few seconds, there was still no reply. She was about to leave when she found herself turning the door handle. The door was unlocked, so she quickly allowed herself in, closing the door behind her. The lights were out, and Kiryll was on his bed, unmoving.

_OK. He's just sleeping._

Norma took her breath, her brain screaming that she should just return back to her room, while her legs started walking toward him. Before she knew it, she was standing right next to his bed. Norma was about to dismiss her worries and leave when she realized something: _**he wasn't breathing.**_

"K-Kiryll? Kiryll!" She started shaking him. "Kiryll! Come on, answer me! Pull off what you did last time!" _Wait…did Zachriel-?_

"…_mm…u-unh…"_ He twitched one of his fingers, and Norma saw his golden eyes slowly open up and turn to her. _"Nor…ma?"_

"Oh, thank god! You almost died, you jerk!" She slapped his arm. "Damn you, Kiryll!"

"_Ow…that hurt."_ He shook his head as of snapping out of a daze. _"Wait…how did I get here? When did I fall asleep?"_

"You didn't just fall asleep, Kiryll. Weren't you listening?" Norma twitched. "You pulled off another near-death situation!"

"_That explains the major headache…"_ He sighed. _"Is that why you're here?"_

"N-no! It's not that." She grumbled. "Zachriel was muttering some weird stuff to me and I thought that he did something to you."

"Oh…" He was startled. "H-he didn't do anything to you, right?"

"No, I'm fine. Can't you think of yourself for once?"

"I have…for the past half hour." Kiryll answered, looking away. "Despite all that…I haven't made any conclusions about who I am."

"Past half hour? But-"

"What the Descender was telling me back at the woods, it just brought up more questions about who I might be. I considered the fact that I might actually be a part of him, but then I started wondering if I'm the reason why he's here in the first place."

"By what he sounded like back there, that seems to be the case." Norma grumbled. "You're not one to be intimidated, right?"

"No, I'm not intimidated…just confused." He chuckled. "Then again, it means that Zachriel knows all the answers to my questions…he knows who I am."

"Are you sure it's not the lack of oxygen to your brain that's talking?" She pointed out. "You know what? You can't be trusted alone tonight."

"Don't worry about me, Norma. I'll be fine. It won't happen aga-"

"_**So close…and yet so far."**_

"**UGH!"**

He held his head and leaned forward, making Norma panic and hold onto his shoulders. After a few seconds, the pain went away and he regained control of his body. It was then that he realized that he was only a few inches from her face. She huffed.

"That's it. You're not staying here alone." She jumped into his bed. "I'm staying here."

"W-what?" He blushed. "But…you already paid for your room."

"No, I was going to room with Shirl! But I'm already here!" She snuggled under the blankets and smiled. "Besides, this bed is softer."

"Um…OK." He really couldn't do anything about it.

Sighing, he laid on the bed and stared out the window at the moonlight. The questions continued to roll around his head, all asking him if he can live on the ship anymore. He closed his eyes and flipped over, before remembering that Norma was sharing his bed…and that she was _(again)_ a few inches from his face. He blushed again and rolled onto his back, his gaze tight on the ceiling.

_Just close your eyes, Kiryll. It's only for one night, this won't happen ever again. This is only for one night, one night, one-_

In her sleep, she yawned, reached over him and started to hug him. He almost screamed, but the air was already out of his lungs. He could feel the heat rushing up to his cheeks and face, and closed his eyes as tightly as he could, embarrassment running through his veins.

_This…is going to be a long night._

"" "' ""

"Hey, Kiryll." Yuri chuckled. "What the heck happened to you?"

"You don't want to know." He held his chest. "You seriously don't."

"All right…but whatever your issue is, you better snap out of it. The ship's here and Chat's more than willing to leave you here."

"All right, I'm coming!"

"" "" ""

**Well, wasn't that a bit of a filler?**


	65. There Are Some Rumors About You :HERMIT:

**So Kiryll is back on the ship after one hell of a day at the park. What can cause him to regain some of his composure?**

"" "" ""

For some reason, he compared entering Ad Libitum to walking around a crowded street: he sure was being squished the same way.

After a while, he was finally able to squeeze out and walk in some form of freedom. Then again, it left him alone _(he started to wonder just how in the world he can have alone time if there were so many people on the ship)_ to wander wherever he wanted to. A few long minutes later, he noticed a strange sight: Jade…in a daze? He blinked as he stepped toward him.

"Hasn't anyone told you to mind your own business?"

"Huh?" Kiryll flinched. "Oh…sorry. You just looked a little-"

"Out of it? You worry too much." Jade turned back to him. "Focus more of that energy on yourself."

"Yeah, I know…but I can't help but worry about everyone else. They're all getting hurt because people are after me…and to make things worse, I don't even know why!"

"I think you already know why…you just don't want to say it out loud."

"Jade?"

"Or would you rather I say it to you? All right: he either wants you for your powers since you both are Wild Cards, or he sees you as the threat on this world and wants to get rid of you."

"I was afraid of that…" Kiryll looked down. "Judging from everything that's happening to me, I wouldn't be surprised if it's the latter…"

"Yes, well…it would make sense if he's trying to kill you to save the world." Jade propped his glasses. "Think about it: you are prone to attacking people at random moments of the day without reason."

"What're you trying to say here, Jade? That he's right and I am a threat to this world?" Kiryll yelled. "If you agree with him, then you might as well kill me right now! Come on, I'm not going to fight back."

Jade stared at Kiryll for a few seconds as he stood completely still. Suddenly, he brought out his spear and jabbed it into his shoulder. He cringed from the pain, but made no move to heal it. Again, Jade stabbed Kiryll's leg. He fell to his knees, but made no attempt to run. It ended with the spear half an inch from Kiryll's left eye. He didn't even blink.

"At least you're one to keep true to your promises." Jade retracted his spear. "But since when is a dead body good for anyone?"

"What're you trying to say here?" Kiryll stood up. "Make up your mind."

"You might be right about you being the evil source that Zachriel is hunting down, but it's selfish for you to just consider yourself into this decision." He grinned. "Haven't you thought about everyone else?"

"They're logical thinkers, Jade. They'll understand why I did this." Kiryll stated.

"Understand, yes. But I think that you mistaken the concept of _understanding_ with the concept of _accepting_. Would they really want you to throw your life away because of a highly-supported theory?"

"I guess not, but…at least Zachriel would leave them alone."

"Don't consider just that, Kiryll. What if it turns out that you being completely evil is wrong? You would have died for no reason at all." Jade propped his glasses. "And all that would be left is you: a casualty created by an incorrect piece of information."

"Jade-"

"Either way, you're playing straight into Zachriel's hands. For now, all you can do is keep living and doing what you've been doing this whole time."

"What, you mean brood about my past and make random comments on whether or not I should be alive?"

"Yes. Exactly." Jade chuckled. "You should treat those wounds of yours before they get infected."

"Oh, right."

_You forgot that you were bleeding?_

_***One Dia spell later…***_

"Hey, how's it going with Arche?" Kiryll asked.

"She's still as clingy as ever." Jade answered. "Unfortunately, with everything that's going on, it's getting harder and harder to actually get some time for myself."

"I guess that's true…" Kiryll sighed. "Hm…"

"What?"

"I've always wondered what it would be like to be a father…caring for a child who looks up to you and treats you like the strongest figure in the world. Not only that, but to add the fact that the child isn't even your own flesh and blood…being a father is a miracle."

"Yes, raising a child is one of the hardest responsibilities known to the world, man or animal alike. And you also have to consider the fact that the father is the protector of the family, making our job harder than saving the world."

"True…well, if it hadn't been for the fact that you scare me just a little, I would say that you'd be a great father!"

_**Oops…**_

"Well, I would say the same for you…" Jade chuckled. "But you're still too young to have a child."

"Yeah, I know…" Kiryll answered.

"Unless…you _want_ to have a child now."

"N-no, of course not now!"

"Do you even know how children are made?"

"Y-yes, of course I do. I'm not a kid, Jade."

"Well, I would be more than willing to give you a few good females that would be great mothers-"

"_**JADE**__**!**_ Really?"

Jade couldn't help but laugh at how flustered Kiryll was. After a few seconds, he rubbed his chin as of remembering something and then chuckled to himself a little more _(much to Kiryll's dismay)_. He sheathed his spear.

"Which reminds me…I happened to have come across some rumors about you last night…"

"Uh…l-last night?"

"Yes…didn't you share your bed with Norma last night?"

_Oh sh-_

"By the flustered look on your face, it was a little more than that, wasn't it?"

"N-no, nothing else happened! She just wanted to check up on me after what happened with Zachriel and decided that we should share a room together. I had no say in that decision whatsoever!"

"But were you complaining about it?"

"…"

"You were enjoying yourself, weren't you?"

Kiryll's face got even redder, so he quickly excused himself and ran the hell away from him. Suddenly, he realized that the Hermit tarot card had appeared in his mind, glowing a beautiful emerald green color. His dash slowed down to a halt.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I. I, THE HERMIT THAT WANDERS ALONE, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND. AND WHEN THE TIME COMES…I WILL GET STRONGER, SO THAT YOU WILL FIND THE TRUTH…"**

The image of the card vanished, and Kiryll took a few deep breaths and shook his head. There was one thing that he was sure of: _he was going to avoid Jade for the rest of the day…hopefully, the rest of his life._

"" "" ""

**RETURN OF THE SOCIAL LINKS! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**


	66. Making Some Riceballs :STAR:

**MORE SOCIAL LINKS! MORE SOCIAL LINKS! At least these chapters are going to be smaller XD**

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After a few long minutes, Kiryll finally found himself in the cafeteria. At first, he didn't realize that it was the cafeteria until he found himself smelling fresh pasta and what seemed to be meatballs. He leaned over at the open window separating the dining hall and the kitchen and saw Astrid spinning something in a pot.

"Cooking for the hell of it, I see."

"Gah!" She turned around. "Oh, Kiryll! I didn't see you there!"

"Well, concerning the fact that you were facing the pot in front of you, I would be surprised if you actually did." He grinned. "Is it OK if I joined you?"

"Um…sure." Astrid looked to the door. "Let me unlock the door first-"

"No need." He jumped through the window and landed perfectly on his feet. "See?"

It was then that he realized that Astrid didn't say anything. It turned out that she was staring at him in sheer admiration. After a few seconds of snapping his fingers in her face, she snapped out of it and realized that she was dazed for a few seconds.

"Ah-! Oh, uh…"

"There you go. Back to reality." He chuckled. "So then…how's your pasta?"

"A-ah! Yeah, the pasta!" She turned back to the pot. "Oh, thank goodness…I almost burned them! Thanks, Kiryll."

"No problem. Are there any leftover pans around here?"

"Hm? Wait, you're going to cook too?"

"Yeah. I might as well wrap something up for my next mission." He smiled. "Besides, I got a bento box that I bought from Keterburg that I want to use."

"Oh, I see…well, I'm only using this and a strainer, so there's more than enough for you to use."

"Thanks." He turned to the fridge. "Well, looks like we have enough for a few riceballs and fried lobster!"

_***Dong***_ "F-fried lobster?"

"Yeah, they made that back in Altamira, so I decided that I might as well try it out." He brought it out. "If you want, I can make one for you."

"H-huh?" She blushed. "Oh, s-sure."

"All right." He smiled. "At least there's enough stoves to use."

Kiryll then proceeded to boil some water in a huge stove. Astrid tried to see if she could start another conversation with him, but failed horribly and ended up staring at the cooked pasta in front of her. A few long minutes passed by after that, broken only because he dropped the lobster into the pot.

"Hey, Astrid." Kiryll turned his head. "How are those dreams of yours?"

"My dreams?" She seemed startled by his question. "Um…well, I don't really know. All that I know is that I have the ability to see into the past in my dreams…"

"See into the past? Like you can see the past whenever you go to sleep?" Kiryll looked hopeful.

"Um…yeah. But…I can't choose on whose past I get to see." She stated.

"Oh…" He lowered his head.

"I…I don't even know if I saw into your past. Every time I see an incident, I am that person and the name and identity are censored from me, so I don't know who I'm playing as." She stirred in the pasta. "Even then, I've been seeing more of the princess and talking naginata than any other memory."

"Oh…" A strange thought crossed Kiryll's mind. "Did any of your memories…include a man named Lorelei?"

"Ah-! Yes!" She turned her head. "Does the name Kyra mean anything to you?"

"Yes, it does." Kiryll turned his head. "That's…my former name."

"Y-your name? But Kyra's a girl!"

"Yeah, well…that never made much sense. But yeah, I've been having memories of me being that girl." Kiryll smiled. "In case you're curious, I happen to know the name of the princess of your dreams."

"You do?" She asked.

"Yeah. Lorelei called her Kaela." He answered. "Princess Kaela…her naginata is a gift from Lorelei."

"I see…" She pulled out the pasta into a container. "Do you know…anything else?"

"No. After that, all I have are questions." Kiryll laughed. "Whoa! The lobster seems to be done!"

"Ha ha ha…" She laughed. "Hm? What're you looking for?"

"I heard that the cooks used red wine to season the lobster." Kiryll pulled out a bag of rice from the cabinet. "Well, I can use this to make the rice balls…ah, here's the wine!"

"Do you even know how to use the wine?"

"You add it to the lobster while it's still cooking so that it sinks into the meat." He opened the bottle and poured a bit into the lobster as he cooked the rice. "Hey, Astrid…if you have a dream that might look like it's part of my memories-"

"No worries. I'll tell you about it." She smiled.

"OK…thank you."

As he waited for the rice to be done, he heard a crash in his mind. Instantly, the image of the Star Arcana tarot card appeared in his mind, glowing a red and yellow tint. It startled him so much that he almost dropped the bottle of wine.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I. I, THE STAR IN THE NIGHT SKY, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND. AND WHEN THE TIME COMES…I WILL GET STRONGER, SO THAT YOU WILL FIND THE TRUTH."**

The image faded from his mind as another click occurred in his mind.

**/-/**

"_Oh? So you're in love with the elf?"_

"_Um…yeah." Kyra rubbed the back of her head. "He loves me too, so…"_

"_That must be great, to be in love with the man that loves you back…"_

_Kyra found herself walking in a beautiful garden with Princess Kaela. No one else seemed to be around (not even any maids seem to be anywhere). She noticed Kaela squeezing the necklace around her neck, as if it was the most precious thing in the world._

"_Are you in love as well?" Kyra asked. "You seem to act the same way that I did the first time I met Kanata."_

"_Oh, uh…" Kaela blushed. "Well, as long as we're telling each other secrets…don't tell anyone?"_

"_Of course not, princess." Kyra answered._

"_OK…well, I think that…Lorelei is…a handsome individual, and…"_

"_Yes, I can understand that. Lorelei has that weird trait of catching female hearts." Kyra laughed. "He keeps you in high regard and talks about you all the time."_

"_H-he does?"_

"_Yes, but I don't know if that's the same as being in love…I can never figure out Lorelei's thoughts." She smiled. "I won't tell anyone."_

"_Th-thank you."_

_Kaela smiled as the grip on her necklace gotten loose and dropped to her side. It was then that Kyra noticed that the necklace was lightly glowing, as if it was trying to say something to her…but what was the message?_

**/-/**

"Uh…K-Kiryll?"

"Wh-whaat?" He loosely turned his head to Astrid. "What is it…?"

"Your rice is done."

"Oh…of course, of course…" He grabbed the hot edges. "Ow! Owowowow…that's really hot."

"Y-you want me to get it for you?"

"I-I'm fine, re-really…re-reaaalllyy…"

"Um…Kiryll?" She got the rice pan before Kiryll reached over to it. "Why were you drinking the wine?"

"W-was I? I didn't-I didn't even…" He looked at the near empty wine bottle. "Oh…look. At. That."

"Are you _drunk?"_

"Mmm…muh…mayyybe…" He sighed. "Yesss…"

"" "" ""

**Hahaha…he's DRUNK.**


	67. Those Three Little Words :LOVERS:

**We got a drunk Kiryll Nightroad running around the ship. Help us! We don't know what he's like when he's drunk…or buzzed, or something.**

"" "" ""

"Hm…what should I give him…? Maybe some chocolate? No, not that…"

Estelle was sitting in the lobby, thinking about Yuri. Tomorrow was the first anniversary of their first meeting, and she wanted to celebrate the occasion. Unfortunately, she didn't know if he was going to be free on that day. She began to wonder if she might have to give him something that might be practical to him. Suddenly, she heard sobbing from behind her. She stood up and looked over the railing next to the stairs and saw Kiryll crying softly to himself, a bottle of wine in his hand.

"A-are you OK?" She asked.

"_My god…I'm makin' everyone suffer, aren't I?"_ He sobbed. _"I've been attacked so many times and no one's complainin'…yet I know…I KNOW…that they would prefer that their lives are quiet and eventless!"_

"Kiryll? Can you hear me?"

"H-huh?" He looked up. She could see his dazed eyes. "Kanonno?"

"It's Estelle, but you're close." She chuckled, walking down the stairs. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine…just…a little…" He lifted up the wine bottle. "You want a taste? It's red wine."

_He got drunk off wine? How is that possible?_ "N-no. I'm fine."

"All right…" He lowered his arm. "Hey, can I…ask you a…question?"

"A…question?" Estelle blinked.

"D-do you know…how to fall in love?" He leaned over to her.

"L-love?" She blushed. "A-are you saying that…you love me?"

"Is that…what the…the…the, uh…question meant?" Kiryll rubbed the back of his head. "I meant…i-i-i-in general."

"In general? Um…" She rubbed the back of her head. "I love my friends and family members, if that's what you mean."

"Not…really…but at leasssst…that means that you didn't…" He sighed and leaned back on the wall. "Cause I remember…talkin' to a girl 'bout it…"

"Like…it's part of your memories?"

"Talkin' to a girl…'bout it…she said that they blush 'round people and can't stop thinkin' 'bout 'em…" He swayed a couple minutes before continuing. "You just feel the uh…heart beatin', and uh…mind goes a little…uh…dizzy-ish. I don' get it either…"

Estelle stared at Kiryll as he continued to list the random traits that he thinks contribute to love. Suddenly, she found herself blushing: most of these things were making sense. She had no idea that he was such a preacher when he's drunk.

"I don' really get 'ow hard…that…this whole three-word-issue is…it's only three words…'n three syllables…" He lifted up three fingers. "Maybe it's…uh…the fact that love is, uh…com-com-compli…cated?"

"Love is complicated, Kiryll." Estelle stated. "It can't be love unless both people feel it."

"Then wouldn't everyone be in love?" Kiryll asked as he swayed back and forth. "I mean, people talk 'bout others all the time…'n…well, Yuri talks 'bout you sometimes…"

"H-he does?" She blushed.

"Sometimes…he gets worried 'bout you…since you're a princess and stuff…and he wonders if you can handle yourself." He swayed a little bit. "Keeps callin' you princess and stuff…"

_He…worries about me?_ Her face got hotter.

It was then that Kiryll's daze started getting thicker and thicker. Yet for some reason, he was quick to register the image of the Lovers Arcana tarot card appear in his mind with a pink glow. It was oddly sharp, despite the fact that he was a little…buzzed.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I. I, THE CONNECTION BETWEEN MAN AND WOMAN, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND. AND WHEN THE TIME COMES…I WILL GET STRONGER, SO THAT YOU WILL FIND THE TRUTH."**

Once the image was gone, he passed out on Estelle's shoulder. She would be bothered by that if it hadn't been for the fact that she was deep in thought. Thousands of questions started to throw themselves through her mind: all of them were about Yuri.

"" "" ""

**Kiryll, you are so weird when you're drunk.**


	68. The Stuff Used for Blackmail :FORTUNE:

**So many Social Links! Don't worry, I'll make it up for it later. Really, I will.**

"" "" ""

"Hey. Is the great Kiryll Nightroad awake?"

"Hm…?" Kiryll looked up. A sheer pain echoed in his head. "Ow…my head! Am I remembering something?"

"Nope. It's something I would like to call a hangover." The voice was Zelos, and he was holding a bottle of wine. "Though I have to admit…I didn't think of you as a drinker."

"I thought it was just fancy juice…" He answered, sighing before grabbing his head. "Ugh!"

"K-Kiryll?" Zelos panicked. "Are you OK?"

"Ugh…make the voices _stoop…_" He whined. "They're too louuddd…make them stoooppp…"

"Uh…maybe you shouldn't be drinking…" He looked at the wine bottle in his hand. "If that's you when you have wine-"

"Augh! Why do the voices sound like a _girl?_ Are you SEDUCING me?" Kiryll went to the ground. "Why are you so loud?"

_So you preach when you're drunk, and hear voices after an hour of drinking…to top it all off, you start speaking in an Italian accent._ Zelos sighed. _Yep, drinking is so not for you._

Zelos watched as Kiryll started mumbling random nonsense as he curled up and sobbed like a baby. He wondered if he should say something to him before noticing that, well…watching Kiryll sob in a semi-drunken _(hung over?)_ mode was extremely entertaining. He leaned over and just watched it, wondering just how he could use this as blackmail.

"Hey, Kiryll. Are the voices still talking to you?"

"What…? Z-Zelos?" He turned his head, and Zelos saw his teary eyes. "No…they…they stopped…"

"Good, 'cause I figured that I might as well teach you something while you have a break." He lifted up his hand. "Can you stand?"

"A…a little." He took his hand. "What…do you want to teach me?"

"Well, I've heard from our princess Estellise that you were talking about relationships, right?" Zelos grinned. "Have you even considered the fact that you don't know how to talk to girls?"

"I know how…you just…you know, open your mouth and…and, uh…" Kiryll paused. "Words. Words come out of your mouth."

"Kiryll…talking to women is an _art._ You need to be able to figure out what kind of words you need to say to them." Zelos winked. "You're capable of perfecting that art, but…you just need a few pushes into it."

"W-what?"

"Come on…aren't you a little bit curious?"

He wouldn't want to admit it, but he was…just a little. Kiryll slowly stood up, his head still ringing a little bit, and followed Zelos through the hallways. Part of him was worried on what he was going to do, but unfortunately, that part of his brain was too intoxicated to think about it.

"" "" ""

After a few minutes of dangling after the redhead, he found himself in the pilot room where there were people _(his gaze was a little messed up to figure out who exactly these people were)_. He barely noticed that Zelos was grinning at the group, and that the others knew that Kiryll was a little…incapacitated.

"He looks drunk, Zelos." The voice was Rutee. "What did you do to him?"

"He mistook wine for grape juice. But don't worry, he's fine." Zelos giggled. "He's funny when he's like this."

"W-woooow…" Kiryll tilted his head to Rutee. "She's…nice. Does she live here?"

"Wait, what did-?" Rutee turned to Zelos. "Is he speaking in an accent?"

"It's a long story that I really don't get myself…but yes, he has an accent." Zelos paused for a minute. "Through no fault of my own."

"Hiiii…I don't think we've…met before, have we?" He leaned over toward Rutee. "My name is Kiryll Nightroad. May I have the pleasure of…knowing yours?"

_What the-? Is he trying to seduce me?_ Rutee stepped back. "Whoa, whoa, whoa…calm your rational sense of thinking before you hurt yourself!"

"Aw, you're a shy one, aren't you?" Kiryll smiled _(whether it was serene or was the wine talking, she will never know)_. "Maybe if I help you release some tension…"

"What in the world? No, get away from me!"

"Wow, Kiryll." Zelos grinned. "Way to go!"

"Don't _**PROMOTE**_ this!" Rutee screamed to him.

"Hey, Rutee." A door opened, revealing Lloyd. "Are you up for another mission-"

"Gaaah! It's the voices!" Kiryll threw himself back and held his head. "The voices are back! Nooo, I thought that they stopped!"

After a few seconds, everyone was blissfully entertained by the image of Kiryll curling up to the side of the room and started sobbing like an Italian baby. Then again, since this was Kiryll, he actually sounded really cute. It was then that Zelos decided that enough was enough and that he should get the drunkard out of the room.

"" "" ""

"You OK, man?" Zelos grinned.

"The voices are gone…?" Kiryll looked around. "What in the world?"

"The voices are gone, Kiryll. Don't worry about them." Zelos chuckled. "I have to admit, you have some talent in the woman department."

"Uh…I said something to that woman?" Kiryll swayed back and forth. "I don't…remember."

"You did…and you sounded good." He tousled his hair. "I might have to get lessons from you!"

"No, really…" He chuckled. _"Really…"_

"It's like you know how to talk to women!"

"Well, I used to be a woman-"

"Wow, you really are drunk!" Zelos laughed. "Maybe you need to sit back and relax a bit."

Kiryll chuckled before he leaned back on the wall and sighed. Zelos was staring at him with an amused look on his face, wondering if he was going to do something else interesting. Suddenly, he was covered with the image of the Fortune Arcana tarot card, glowing strands of pink and orange.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I. I, THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND. AND WHEN THE TIME COMES…I WILL GET STRONGER, SO THAT YOU WILL FIND THE TRUTH."**

After the image faded, Kiryll looked straight into Zelos' eyes, unnerving him. Suddenly, he heard a stomach growling and realized that it was his own. Zelos took this as amusing and started to laugh at him.

"Looks like the heron's hungry." Zelos grinned. "So…what do you want to eat?"

"…" Kiryll's eyes lit up. _**"PASTAAA!"**_

_Yep…so drunk._

"" "" ""

**Yeah…after a few hours of listening to Todd Haberkorn voicing Italy, it rubbed off on Kiryll. It didn't help that I had pasta this afternoon XD**


	69. Trying Something New :MAGICIAN:

**Poor Kiryll Nightroad: he's drunk and hears voices. At least he might find a way to lighten up and take a break for once.**

"" "" ""

After a few long minutes, he was able to get the hangover out of his head. Kiryll shook his head to clear out anything else before deciding that he was OK to operate under normal circumstances. He started to walk around for a few minutes before seeing Arche prancing through the hallway. She looked at him with a bright look on her face and jumped to him.

"Hey, Kiryll! How are you?"

"Me? Um…" Kiryll blinked. "I'm…OK."

"Huh? Hey…you don't have an accent." Arche leaned around him. "Damn it! He lied to me!"

"Uh…_who_ lied to you?"

"Lloyd! He said that he saw you walking around drunk with an Italian accent!" She folded her arms. "I never took him for a liar! I actually didn't!"

"Um…he wasn't…lying."

"He WASN'T?"

"I have eyewitnesses to that account. The thing is…I don't really remember-"

"_Sigh_…the cons of being drunk. And I wanted to see this, too!"

"Are you…thinking about getting me drunk?"

"Not _**now**_, since Yuri's wondering if we should take a mission later, but you know…"

"Remind me never to be alone with you." Kiryll sighed. "Actually, I talked to Jade about an hour ago. How are relations with him?"

"He's OK…I guess. I mean, I am a grown teenager, so I don't need to hang out with him as much." She rocked back and forth. "Though I think it would be nice if I had at least one day with him."

"You can't blame him. He's busy trying to figure out what's going on with me." Kiryll rubbed his Cruxis Crystal. "In fact, just about anyone that considers themselves to be smart is trying to figure out what's going on."

"Well, as long as he has an excuse, I can't really blame him…" Arche looked at him. "Speaking of which…how are you with your memories?"

"I'm…doing well, I guess." Kiryll sighed. "I mean, I'm remembering some really random things, so I can't really come to any conclusions…"

"It'll add up in the end, Kiryll. Don't worry about it." Arche grinned. "Hey, are you willing to come with me to the ship deck?"

"Um…sure."

"" "" ""

Fortunately to him, the deck was empty when he followed the half-elf up to the surface. She looked around for a minute before tossing him the broom. He quickly caught it _(his senses were a little suppressed, so it was a lot harder to do so)_ before noticing that she was doing back flips away from him.

"Guess what I was working on?" She grinned.

"Um…back flips?" He tilted his head.

"Not just that! I've been observing Senel and Kongman and decided that I might as well try out some martial arts as well!" She started punching and kicking. "Who needs muscles when it comes to kicking people where it truly hurts?"

_So…true._ Kiryll blinked. "How's that going?"

"It's going smoothly. I mean, I probably won't be able to beat Senel, but at least I got enough to bash in a few heads." She chuckled. "Besides, you can't just rely on spells or strength alone!"

"Yeah, that's true." Kiryll held his cross necklace. "Hey, have you considered working martial arts with flying on your broom?"

"Yeah, actually! I've failed horribly, but I'm getting there!" She beckoned for the broom. "Watch me!"

Kiryll threw her the broom and then proceeded to watch her do some very talented acrobatics in the air. After a few minutes, he noticed something odd: Arche missed gripping the broom and was now falling toward the ground. He quickly snapped his wings open and grabbed Arche and her broom before they crashed into the ground.

"You OK?"

"I'll…be fine." She looked around.

"Hah…you're lighter than you look." Kiryll dropped her off. "At least you know what you're doing."

"Yep, exactly." Arche grinned. "Hey, I want to do that again!"

"Geez, who's stopping you?"

Kiryll chuckled as he watched Arche try again and again, this time trying her hardest to stay in the air for the longest time possible. As he was flying with her _(it was clearing his head, so he didn't feel buzzed anymore)_, he saw the image of the Magician Arcana tarot card in his mind.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I. I, THE MAGE OF ELVEN BLOOD, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND. AND WHEN THE TIME COMES…I WILL GET STRONGER, SO THAT YOU WILL FIND THE TRUTH…"**

The image faded from his mind, and he almost bumped into Arche as she zoomed past him. They both observed as one of his feathers from his wings started to grow, making his wings form a strange butterfly shape. He shrugged it off as he experimented flying with his new wings. They were oddly lighter.

A heron could get used to this.

"" "" ""

**FLYING WITH WINGS!**


	70. A Lifelong Search :EMPRESS 1:

**This is the last Social Link chapter, I swear…I hope…I REALLY hope so…in that case, this Social Link chapter is going to be the longest and most plot-twisting of the while! That's right, PLOT-TWISTING! This Social Link is going to be LONG! In fact…this might be the longest chapter I ever type! **_**Yeah, it's going to be that long…**_

"" "" ""

It took him a few hours to finally ground himself and walk back into the ship. A good trip around the skies was a sure way to clear a drunken head _(at least, that's what his mind was trying to tell him)_. As he walked through the lobby, he noticed Norma looking into a book and rubbing her forehead rapidly.

_She's mumbling something to herself…_ He looked at the cover of the book. _The Everlight?_

She disappeared into the ship before Kiryll had a change to say anything, and before he knew it he was following her. Unfortunately, she grabbed his wrist before he had a chance to snap out of it and walk away from her. He almost screamed.

"Why are you following me?" She asked.

"Uh, well…" He pointed at the book. "The title…just sounded familiar to me."

"What, this title?" Norma lifted up the book. "You heard of the Everlight before?"

"Um…it sounds familiar." He answered. "Is it a form of Cruxis Crystal?"

"It's the same substance, but not a Cruxis Crystal. It's stated that if you find it, it'll grant you a wish!" She stared back into the book. "The only problem is that the only clue to find it is this passage…augh, I can't translate it!"

"Mind if I look at it?"

Norma looked confused, but then decided that she might as well give him a try. She handed him the book and pointed at the passage that she was looking at. Kiryll stared at the language for a few minutes before realizing that _(for some reason)_ he could read it. He grinned.

"I can't read much of this…" He somewhat lied. "But from what I can gather, it mentions something about a wish-granting stone in some kind of forest…"

"A…forest?" Norma's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, but…I don't get what it means." He rubbed the back of his head. "A…moving ship?"

"No…way…the ship? The answer was in our faces this entire time?" She grabbed the book back from him. "I can't believe it!"

She dashed off past him, causing him to spin around in a dizzy stupor. Once he was able to regain his senses, he noticed that he had lost the treasure hunter completely. After a few minutes, he realized that the book had been dropped onto the floor. He reread the passage that she was reading.

"A moving ship…" _Well, if it meant any ship, then no wonder Norma was having such a hard time finding this Everlight thing…which could only mean that she was talking about…_ "The Legacy."

He stood up and shook his head. The few minutes flying around the ship had cleared his mind, so he should be able to operate normally. Suddenly, he felt the ship move upward to the sky. He wasn't even aware of the fact that the ship was moving. Quickly, he ran up to the deck and noticed what looked like to be a speck of Norma running through the town toward somewhere. Before he knew it, his wings extended and he flew down after her.

"" "" ""

Despite the fact that it took him a few seconds to land in an area hidden from human eyes, it didn't take much for him to realize that he had lost her. He started running around, trying to find the yellow girl and nearly crashed into an old man. Fortunately, he stopped before Kiryll ran over him.

"Whoa!" He backed up. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there!"

"I didn't see you either." He answered, his head slowly turning to him.

_Oh…he's blind…_ "Hey, um…did you notice anyone running through here? She might've ran through here."

"You must be a friend of Norma's, then. If you're wondering where she is, she said that she's heading off to the Ice Monument to go look for the Everlight."

"The Everlight…she was reading a book about it…"

"If you find her, tell her that she should stop reaching for such fantasies. It'll kill her if she doesn't stop."

Kiryll looked confused as the man slowly wobbled on his way. After asking around, he finally decided to search in the air. He hid himself from the view of the people before soaring into the air into the hidden areas around the city. Suddenly, he saw what looked like to be a moving elevator _(in the middle of a forest?)_ with the familiar giddy image of Norma jumping inside.

_Sheesh…everyone says that she's greedy and is a popular treasure hunter, but I never knew she was this cocky._

Before he could fly up to meet her, she had dashed out of the elevator into what looked like a tower covered with snow. He landed next to the elevator and noticed that she was dashing into the area as if she wasn't afraid of any of the monsters inside _(she probably wasn't)_.

"All right! The Everlight is so in here!" She screamed as she dashed in.

_Oh geez…_ He quickly followed after her.

"" "" ""

He kept forgetting that the Legacy was a highly advanced ship, so it shocked him to see just how high tech the monument was. Then again, he didn't have much time to admire a place he's never been in before as he was constantly being attacked by monsters. A few bashings later, he found himself staring at an open door. And Norma happened to be inside.

"This room is…oddly suspicious…" She looked around. "Maybe it's here…"

Kiryll looked confused as he walked inside the room with her. She was mumbling something to herself as she wandered around the room, punching and kicking the walls as if she was looking for something.

"Hey, Norma-"

A rumbling sound caught his voice and her attention. She turned her head and caught eye contact with the confused heron. Suddenly, an icicle shot up right in front of him. He screamed and waddled back as he tried to calm himself down.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, confused.

"Well…the thought of you running around ruins and forests on your own couldn't help but make me worry." He grinned. "I wanted to check up on you."

"Well, I'm fine, thank you very much-"

She stepped forward and the rumbling sound caught up again. Another icicle came up next to Kiryll, and he moved out of the way. After a few more icicle dodging, he stopped moving and stood perfectly still.

"That wasn't supposed to happen…" Norma folded her arms. "There was supposed to be a hidden passageway here…"

"Well, by the look of things, we're just activating traps." Kiryll looked around. "Too bad. Guess we can't move from where we stand…"

"What, the whole floor activates the traps?" She looked around. "T-that didn't happen before!"

"I guess it started when you were banging around on the walls." Kiryll smiled. "Hold on…something struck me as odd…"

Norma was about to ask what he was talking about when he walked toward the door on the other side of the room. To her amazement, no more icicles came up to attack him. He chuckled as he turned toward Norma with a smile on his face.

"There's a limit to this trap." He smiled. "It's OK to move now."

"…Thanks." She walked toward him. "But I don't need your help."

"Can I at least give you a message?" He asked. "I bumped into an old man while I was on my way here, and he said that you shouldn't be chasing fairy tales…or something like that."

Norma glared at him when he finished his message, mumbled something under her breath, and continued walking through the door. He shrugged before heading on after her. She turned her head and looked at him with a confused look on her face.

"Why are you following me?"

"I can't help but be worried about you." He answered. "Besides, you're going to need a dummy to trigger all the traps, right?"

Norma couldn't argue with that bargain, so she sighed before walking ahead. He chuckled before following suit. He was surprised that Norma knew her way around the strange monument, as if she had been here before. After a few more monster attacks, they found themselves in the middle of what looked like a teleporter room. And in front of them…

"What the heck is that?" She jumped. "Is it a monster?"

_That black mist…this is definitely stronger than the others in this place…_ He could feel his Cruxis Crystal throbbing. _It reminds me of the mist that surrounds Guede whenever he's fighting…_

The monster jumped into the air and crashed his paws into the ground, creating a major dent in the ground. Norma and Kiryll rolled out of the way as he turned his head toward the both of them. Quickly, Kiryll flew into the air and summoned his scythe, trying to cut him. Instead, he heard a clang and was thrown back.

_What in the world? I can't cut him!_ He flew over Norma's head. "I can't get a hit."

"Let a magician work her magic!" She lifted up her bubble blower. _**"Thunder Arrow!"**_

Kiryll watched as three electrical spheres appeared over his head and started attacking the monster in front of him. To her dismay, the monster knocked the spells out of the way in the same fashion that he deflected the scythe.

"It's not working!" She sobbed. "What do we do, what do we do, what do we _do?__"_

"Well, not panicking is one!"

Before he knew it, he noticed a section of the monster's head started to glow a strange light purple image. A strange thought crossed his mind: _they were aiming toward his limbs and chest this entire time…_

"That's it!"

Norma looked up as she saw him fly over her head and transform his scythe into an axe with a blade in the shape of a crescent moon. He charged forward and slashed at the glowing image, causing the monster to roar in pain. He saw that mist leave the monster's body and form the image of a strange black blob.

"What is that?" Norma gasped.

"It was making whatever that is immune to what we were doing." Kiryll looked at her. "All right then, Norma! Now's your chance!"

"R-right!" She glared at the monsters. "Eternal light, ever true and undefined, grant this wanton sinner before me the majesty of thy judgment…_**Ray!"**_

_I shouldn't use a Personae at this time…_ Kiryll lifted up his finger. "O disturbing power now unleashed, meet thy judgment upon the evil before me…_**Violent Pain!"**_

Instantly, a huge glowing orb of light hovered over the confused monsters as a purple glyph glowed underneath them. They had no idea about the world of pain that they were just about to get into. Kiryll grinned as he turned his axe into a bow and arrow.

"Light and darkness…intertwine!" Kiryll shot an arrow at them. _**"Nova Blast!"**_

The arrow hovered between the both of them as the two cast spells started to attack. The constant raining of rays and tendrils of energy shot up from below them pinned the targets in the middle, trapped when the arrow exploded in a ball of energy, obliterating the both of them. Norma grinned.

"We did it!" She grinned. "I didn't know you can mix those spells together!"

"It was an impulse thing." He landed next to her. "Fortunately, it doesn't seem like they hurt us."_ Geez, hurt us? What a way to lie to her, Kiryll. What in the world was with that slime? And how in the world did it protect that monster from our attacks? Is it Guede's doing? Or…_

"Where is that Everlight?" Norma grinned.

"Uh…Norma!"

He turned around as she pranced around the bridge looking for switches before dashing toward the platform just on the other side of the bridge. He watched _(safely on the edge of the bridge)_ as she started to examine every single nook and cranny of the platform.

"Do you know what you're looking for?" He asked.

"Of course I do! Don't worry about me!" Norma grinned.

_She doesn't have a clue._

She continued to observe the platform, wishing to leave no stone unturned. Kiryll couldn't help but hear Norma mumbling some really strange conclusions under her breath, trying to avoid what she believed would be traps. Suddenly, she was smack dab in the middle of the platform.

"A-HAH! I got something!" She grinned. "This has to be the switch to get into the Everlight!"

"Be careful, Norma." Kiryll stated. "That might be a trap."

"I know what I'm doing, really!"

She turned back to the platform before pressing the switch. Instantly, Kiryll felt his body tense as the hair at the back of his neck stood up. Before he knew it, he was running on the platform and pushed Norma out of the way. She didn't have any time to say anything when three icicles came up from the ground and struck Kiryll. Her heart nearly froze as he collapsed to the ground.

"Kiryll!" She ran to him. "Come on, talk to me!"

"…_I'm fine."_ He sighed. _"Hold on…we better make sure that I don't bleed out."_

He slowly sat up as he summoned Gabriel to heal his wounds. Before she casted Mediarama, she caught eye contact with Norma. They hovered like that for a while before she continued to do what she was summoned to do. Once the wounds were gone, Kiryll smiled at her.

"_See? All better."_

"Are you sure? The last thing that I need to worry about is carrying you around. I'm not a heavy body builder like you are!"

"_I know, I know. And you don't have to-"_

A shiver ran through his body, and he began to cough violently into his hands. When he lowered his arms, he realized that he was coughing up blood. Norma tried her best not to scream as Kiryll stared at his hands with a blank look on his face.

"_Dammit…this is the second time in my life that I've been poisoned…"_ He chuckled. _"Geez, can't they let me celebrate a birthday or something?"_

"You're not OK, Kiryll! You need help, now!" Norma panicked.

He was about to say something before he was carried up to his feet by Norma and hauled out of the room. He decided to let Norma do what she wants, holding onto his cross in case any sense of danger was near.

"" "" ""

The amount of screaming and flailing caught Kiryll's attention, rousing him back into consciousness. He was lying on a bed _(perhaps this was an inn)_, still shivering from the effects of being poisoned. He turned toward the door, noticing that it was still open and that Norma was yelling at the old man that he met earlier.

"_**I can't believe that you could allow such a thing to happen to you! Not only are you still going around searching for the Everlight, but now you poisoned your companion! Have you no shame at all?"**_

"_**I didn't mean for this to happen, Zamaran! Really!"**_

"_**Norma, you out of all people should know not to drag other people into this fantasy of yours! The Everlight does not exist!"**_

"_**It does exist, old man! Master believed in its existence, so it must exist!"**_

"_**It only means that you are just as naïve as he was! Don't fall for the same mistakes as he did! Or do you want a repeat of what happened to him?"**_

He could hear an intake of breath, and then a sharp pain of guilt go through his body. As he heard running footsteps fade out into the distance, he felt his heartbeat pushing more pain into his veins. He lifted up his hand and revealed the Personae card Sarasvati.

"_Posumudi."_

The image of a woman with an instrument appeared before him, casting a healing spell over him. Instantly, he could feel relief from the poison in his body, yet the strange feeling of guilt was still there. He turned his head and saw the old man named Zamaran standing at the doorway.

"So you're a heron." He remarked.

"Yeah." He rubbed his neck, surprised that his voice was working. "Listen, none of this was Norma's fault. Really."

"Don't defend her decision. This is already a terrible choice on her behalf." Zamaran looked down to the ground. "She's naïve…just like her mentor, Sven."

"Her mentor?"

"What, you think her ability to cast spells was a given trait? Don't push humans up to the pestle that herons hover on." He stated. "If it hadn't been for Sven, Norma would be twice as useless as she is now. As for the Everlight…it's only a dream…a fairy tale."

"The Descender is also a fairy tale. And there's a real one living in Daath. Not only that, wasn't it true that the existence of herons was a fairy tale in itself?" Kiryll swung his feet off the bed. "Fairy tales have a way of becoming reality, you know. And who knows? The Everlight might be real."

"She's tainted you in the same way Sven did…or maybe it's just the poison…" He shook his head. "That search will end up being your ruin, boy. You'll end up dead…just like him."

"Like…Sven?"

He looked up, noticing that Zamaran had just left the room. Kiryll slowly stood up, feeling his legs wobble a little bit. He grabbed the edge of the nightstand, almost slipping on a notebook that was on the table. He was confused, so he opened the book and took a read.

_Is this Relares? Oh wait…this is the language of herons on Shining Blue…strange, I can't read this._ He flipped through the pages. _Most of these symbols are translated…Norma, did you translate all of this?_

He couldn't wrap his mind around it for a while. He was aware that Norma was a greedy treasure hunter that searched the world for anything that might turn up a profit. He lost track of how many times Norma would ask him how much his cross cost. To think that she was spending her entire time studying a near dead language just for the chance to prove that her mentor was right…

He felt a strange sense in his blood. His heart was pounding rapidly as his nerves began to steel up. There was only one thing going through his mind: he had to go find Norma. _**Now.**_

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I. I, THE EMPRESS OF THE STRAND OF TIME, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND. AND WHEN THE TIME COMES…"**

"" "" ""

**Part One of the really long Social Link! Just…don't ask why it's so long. Please?**


	71. A Dream Fulfilled :EMPRESS 2:

**Part two of the Empress extremely-long Social Link! Go, Kiryll, go! Find Norma! ****Hint****-look in the graveyards!**

"" "" ""

She wandered silently in the graveyard, looking for the one that she wanted to talk to. After a few long minutes, she finally found the place that she wanted to be in: at the grave of her deceased mentor. She leaned on the stone bearing his name.

"_I'm such an idiot…I didn't want Kiryll to suffer like that…it should've been me. I should be dying in the inn right now."_ She shook her head. _"I've never been good with disarming traps…I haven't changed, haven't I? Not ever since I first became a spell caster…god, my whole life is a joke."_

She sank to her knees.

"_The Everlight…I'm starting to wonder if it actually exists. I don't know if I can keep searching for it any longer…it's weird. I had absolute confidence getting into this, but now, I…"_ She raised her hand to the stone. _"All I've been doing is living your dream…but I…I don't want to do it anymore. Not if other people have to suffer for my mistakes…"_

The image of Kiryll taking the blow from the trap made her shiver. A sharp pain of guilt ran through her nerves and she couldn't help but cry.

"_I tried really hard…I lived my whole life finding the Everlight…"_ She lowered her hand. _"Can I stop now? Is it OK…if I stopped believing? I don't want to believe it anymore if I'm the only one!"_

She could hear the wind blowing behind her, as if it was trying to give her an answer. Suddenly, she heard a voice in the wind.

"**If you are tired by searching for the answer, just give up. No one will blame you if you do."**

"…_Give up…will Sven forgive me if I do?"_

"**That, I don't know. How about you ask him for yourself?"**

There was darkness in the voice. Instantly, Norma turned her head and saw a grinning Guede hovering over her, his hand twitching and begging for her blood. She jumped to her feet and backed up as Guede smiled.

"I don't know why, but…there's something appealing about the thought of ending a life of someone who doesn't want to live it…"

_No…no, I don't want to die! No!_

Suddenly, she found herself flung back into someone's arms. Looking up, she saw Kiryll's golden eyes glow in a strange evil tint as he pulled a sword from his cross. Guede grinned as he lifted out his hand.

"_Norma…step back."_

"_What?"_

Kiryll let her go and she walked back as he kept his blade pointed toward Guede. His fingers started to twitch, and suddenly Kiryll was in the air. Norma watched as the blade separated into a whip and wrapped around Guede's arm. He looked up as Kiryll started muttering under his breath.

"_You don't even deserve to fight me as a shadow…"_ He cursed. _**"Shooting Stars!"**_

The whip separated into blade fragments and pierced themselves deep into Guede. Norma watched in confusion as Guede vanished into fonons, fading away with the wind. Kiryll stood up, the cross dangling from his hand, and then turned toward her. She shivered: his eyes were cold, dead…and glowing pure gold.

"K-Kiryll…?"

He blinked as emotion sank back into his face. Unfortunately, it didn't stop the strange glow. She shivered, making him even more confused. He was about to say something when he suddenly got really cold. He fell to his knees as Norma ran to him.

"Ah! It's the poison, isn't it?" She gasped. "You shouldn't be out of bed! You have to get back to the inn!"

"I'm fine…really. Just help me up to my feet."

Norma looked confused but did as she was told. She watched as he summoned Sarasvati to cast another Posumudi spell upon him and then stood up on his own two feet. To her surprise, her arms were still extended out as if to catch him.

"There we go…all better." He grinned. "At least for now."

"I still think that…you should head back to the inn." Norma said. "You really need your rest."

"All right…but at least you don't have to carry me."

He wasn't aware of it, but he had hurt her even more. Norma lowered her head as she slowly headed back to the inn. Kiryll looked confused before he continued on after her, making sure that she does not leave his sight.

"" "" ""

When he woke up in the morning, he was quick to notice that Norma was not in the room. A wave of panic ran through his system, and he found himself dashing/limping out of the room and out of the inn. He ended up in the crossroad of the city, where he quickly found Norma, her head to the ground.

"There you are…" He smiled. "I've been looking all over for you."

"You were worried…about me?" She looked confused.

"Of course I was…am I not allowed to be?"

He didn't notice it _(I don't know HOW)_, but that statement made Norma's face go completely red. She shook her head and turned her back to him, confusing him even more. He ended up chuckling out loud, making her blush even more.

"Don't tell me that you're clued out on where to look next." He grinned. "The Everlight has to be on the Legacy. That's what the book says."

"All right…fine…great."

"Hm?" Kiryll blinked. "What, you looked everywhere on the ship already?"

"Yeah…and I decided that I want to stop looking."

Kiryll blinked in surprise as Norma walked slowly on one of the pathways. She stopped before turning toward another road. After a few minutes, Kiryll realized that she wasn't trying to decide what road to walk on, but was just walking in circles.

"You're not…looking for the Everlight anymore?"

"No…I quit." She sighed. "It doesn't exist. Nothing more than a fairy tale…"

"…but you put so much energy into finding the Everlight. Are you really going to stop now?"

"Putting so much energy? Hah, more like wasting the last sixteen years of my life." She shook her head. "I'm sorry that I put you in all of this…"

"Norma, after all the crap that I got _you_ into, I should be the one saying that." Kiryll chuckled. "But seriously, are you really going to stop looking for the one thing that your master has been dedicating his life to find?"

"I'm tired of all of this, Kiryll! I don't want to do this anymore!" She screamed.

"OK…that's perfectly fine as well." He nodded. "Just tell me that you won't look back on your past with regret. Just tell me that you can remember your times with your master with a smile on your face."

"I…I…"

"Norma, I saw the notebook in your room. You've been translating Relares this entire time, thinking that it's the only language you need to know in order to find the Everlight on this ship." He lifted it up for her to see. "You just didn't know that the only clue was in Ispanian, another dead language. Before you knew it, you were going in circles, unable to figure out what you were doing."

"Kiryll, I told you-"

"Norma, I can't even read Relares, and I'm a heron. The fact that a human can read it is something past a major accomplishment. If you want to stop your search, that's perfectly fine. Hopefully, you'll remember that you accomplish the one thing that half the world couldn't do in months." He smiled. "I can forgive you. Sven, however…well, I don't know."

"What about my master?"

"Knowing him, he already found the Everlight and is now wondering if you can follow in his footsteps. Find the treasure and you'll call yourself a magician." He sighed. "Too bad. He might not be able to even look at you in the eye if you stop right now."

"Grrr…don't you dare say anything about him! You don't even know who he is!"

"But I know the mindset of a man who will do anything to prove many wrong. Sad though…that you'll never find it…"

"I WILL find it, Kiryll Nightroad! Don't say otherwise?"

"Hm?" Kiryll grinned. It was working. "I thought you said that you didn't want to keep going."

"I was just contemplating on where to look next, that's what I meant!" She stomped toward one of the roads. "We're going to the Crystal Forest! Got it?"

"Hear you nice and clearly." Kiryll's eyes caught movement from the corner of his vision. "Just give me time to get ready. Meet up at the entrance?"

"Good enough!"

He watched as she marched toward the entrance of the city. After chuckling to himself, he turned his head toward an emerging Zamaran, who seemed a bit troubled by what he had told her.

"Here I thought that you would be talking her out of it." He shook his head. "I can't believe that she had convinced you that it exists."

"What can I say? She's a good talker. Besides, she's the only one who knows where to look." Kiryll straightened his jacket. "Aren't you curious about the Everlight's location as well?"

"I've woken up from that dream before it killed me…just like how it killed Sven."

"Well, that would explain why you're blind and why he's dead…" Kiryll spun his cross necklace. "And I'm willing to bet that all of this occurred when he died, didn't he?"

"You have no idea what you're getting into, boy." Zamaran looked at him with confusion in his eyes. "You're leading her and yourself to doom!"

"I hate to break it out to you, but compared what I've been going through in the past few months…I think this would be a walk in the park for us. I have total faith in Norma." He started walking backwards toward the entrance. "She's probably the only one I know who can read Relares…and happens to be one of the best spellcasters that I know."

"You hold so much confidence in one girl…" Zamaran's voice still held fear. "What about you?"

"Me? What can I say without sound egoistic? I'm a heron, after all." He grinned, knowing well that he couldn't see it. "Oh yeah, I don't think we've introduced ourselves. My name's Kiryll Nightroad!"

Zamaran's eyes went wide as Kiryll stared at him for an answer, hopped a few feet before running off after Norma.

_I've heard a rumor going around the city…about a heron who had the ability to summon the gods of ancient past. _ He suddenly recalled. _He was a member of the guild Ad Libitum…and his name was…_

_Kiryll Nightroad._

"" "" ""

_Damn…no wonder why they call this the Crystal Forest._

Kiryll looked around at the crystals that stood over his head. He felt his own Cruxis Crystal pulse in reaction, so he couldn't help but wonder if this place was a Cruxis hiding place like the Crystal Caverns that he found Luke and Guy in. They could've been the same place. Hopefully.

He started to wander around the area _(taking down as many monsters as he had to…with mercy, of course)_. He was surprised how he seemed to know just where Norma was stepping around, finding a clue that she might've missed in the shining area. After a few more steps, he realized that he was at a dead end.

_She has to be around here somewhere…_ He turned his head. _Hello._

He walked toward one of the walls, noticing a crack that he would be able to squeeze through. After a while, he popped through the crack and found himself in another room. Sure enough, he found himself staring at the mage who couldn't stand waiting a few seconds to allow a certain heron to catch up with her.

"What a way to ditch me back there." He laughed.

"Yeah, yeah…" She looked around the room. "Ah, this must be it."

Kiryll watched as she pressed something on the pestle in the middle of the room. Suddenly, he saw a glyph appear in the middle of the table. She leaned over and seemed to pray at it, and then three other glyphs came out from around the room.

_They're Relares…unbelievable._ He turned to Norma. "What do they say?"

"Um…" She turned to the right most symbol. _"Disaster…Fire…Future…"_

"Well, by the sound of those, I can assume that we're doing something to the _'future'_ glyph, am I right?" Kiryll hung his arms at his back before noticing Norma wasn't moving. "Norma?"

"If my research is correct…this has to be it." She looked at the glyphs.

"So this is where the Everlight is? That's good to hear." Kiryll tilted his head. "Though…you don't actually look happy."

"It's just…if this isn't where the Everlight is, then I don't know where to start looking again." She shook her head. "If I learn the truth…I'll never believe in my dream again…I don't want to know the truth. I'd be better off not knowing at all…"

_Ignorance is bliss, as they say…_ "You came this far, Norma. I'm pretty sure whatever truth is here is the answer that you're looking for."

"But do I even want to know?" She shook her head. "I can't…I just can't!"

Norma fell to her knees, and started to well up. Instantly, he felt a shock to his system. He knew that he had to help anyone who cried. It was in his blood. Yet when she was crying, he…how did he want to put this…just wanted to hold her and squeeze her dry, like a sponge.

_We're friends, so…_ He blinked. _Hugging is acceptable between friends, I think…_

Before he had a chance to do so, however, he saw her emit the same dark aura as the monster that attacked back at the Ice Monument. She seemed to take note of that as well, as she started to panic and flail her arms around the room, running as if she had caught fire.

"H-hey! Calm down!" He panicked. "If you continue running around like that, you might actually make it worse!"

"Get it off me then!" She sobbed as she started running around in circles.

"_**Hahaha! Are you serious? And here I thought you were good at handling under pressure!"**_

The both of them froze as they turned their heads toward the source of the voice, and almost screamed. Staring right at them was Norma, glowing under the same black mist. What was weird was that her eyes were glowing a strange yellow, and her body was a tinted purple.

"Is that me?" She stood up.

"I…I don't know…" Kiryll looked at her. _What in the world? Her body doesn't have the mist anymore!_

"_**Geez, just look at you: crumbling under so much pressure! What a bore you are!"**_ The other Norma started to laugh. _**"Then again, what more do we expect of you? You hold such a strong front, yet you crumble the minute push comes to shove! Seriously, I wonder why you're still trying to find this 'Everlight' that you speak of!"**_

"Norma…"

"No…you're wrong!" She pointed to her. "Why are you saying things like that? You don't even know me!"

"_**Oh, I know you quite well, girl!"**_ She laughed. _**"I'm you! And you're me!"**_

"W-what?" She shook her head. "No! You're wrong! _**You're not me!**__**"**_

The other Norma started to laugh as she started to emit more of the black mist. Kiryll saw as Norma passed out on the ground, and ran to her. He tried desperately to wake her up, only to see that the other Norma had transformed into a strange yellow gem with arms and a spear.

_Crap! What's going on here?_ He pulled out his cross. _Looks like I don't have a chance here…_

"_**I am thou…and thou art I…"**_ She looked down to Kiryll. _**"Oh? You're fighting me? I feel so sorry for you! You'll never see the light of day again!"**_

Kiryll turned his cross into his scythe and started to attack her. The strange form started to throw tornados at him, a gesture that he quickly dodged. However, he realized that by dodging all of them, he had no way to approach the other form at all.

_She's casting it so quickly…I can't even find the time to cast a spell!_ He thought for a second. _Wait a minute…_

He jumped on the pestle with the glowing image as the crystal threw more tornadoes at him. Instantly, he turned his scythe into a lyre and _(in true rocker form)_ strummed it. To his surprise, it actually deflected the wind away.

"_**What?"**_

Kiryll grinned as he charged toward the crystal, the lyre making him immune from the only attack she had. Right in front of her face, his cross turned into a golden spear and jabbed it straight into the symbol on her chest. Grinning, he leaned his mouth to where her ear was.

"_Boom."_

**KABOOM!**

He flew backwards as the crystal disintegrated into black mist. The silent step that Kiryll made on the crystal floor stirred Norma back into consciousness. She sat up and saw as the mist turned back into the other form of Norma, still erupting a black mist.

"What the heck is…going on?"

"She's your inner self."

Norma turned her head and almost screamed. Kiryll was hovering over her, but it was in the strange other form that everyone had talked about. She knew it, burned it into her brain after what Yuri told her and what she saw back in Altamira: the coal black eyes and the strange yellow tint to his wings…

_Wait, he said something._ "My…inner self?"

"The part of you that you kept repressed from the world…the one that knows your darkest secrets and hidden fears." The voice was odd as well, yet held no malice. "You have to accept it…it's the only way it'll leave you alone."

"W-what if I don't?"

"Then it'll go berserk and start attacking again." His hand was tight on his cross. "Then again, I don't mind beating it until it accepts itself."

"No…no that's not needed."

She stood up and slowly walked toward her other self, who was sobbing to herself in the same way that she had been doing before. It was then that Norma knew what she had to do…for herself.

"Can you stand up?"

"…" The other one stood up.

"I've been searching for the Everlight because I wanted to…not for anyone else's sake. Somehow, along the way, I forgot the fun of chasing the dream." She smiled. "I thought that…if I learned that the dream that I had reached for was nothing more than a dream, then it would mean that I have wasted my life for nothing."

It was then that Kiryll snapped back into his real self. He looked up toward Norma, who was smiling.

"But now that I look back at it…I learn that I haven't wasted my life away, even if this was for naught. I had fun, and I made friends with everyone, especially Kiryll." She turned to him and smiled, then back at the other self. "I must've been neglecting you this entire time…all because I was afraid to confront the actual truth in this…but now I know. You're me…you really are."

The other Norma nodded, before being engulfed in a strange light. Instantly, Kiryll felt a card fly out of his soul and join with the light. Looking up, they realized that it formed the angel Gabriel, only it had pipes instead of wings and her face was covered.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I."** It echoed throughout the entire room. **"I, THE EMPRESS OF THE STRAND OF TIME, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND. AND WHEN THE TIME COMES…I WILL GET STRONGER, SO THAT YOU WILL FIND THE TRUTH. NOW THEN…TAKE THAT FIRST STEP."**

Norma gasped as the angel vanished in a pool of light, forming a Persona card before sinking into her body. Kiryll, meanwhile, was shocked at what just happened and held his head.

_That's the whole verse…_ He realized.

"Is this…a Persona?" She turned to him. "I have a Persona?"

"I…think so…" He smiled. "But enough about that. We should go find the Everlight now!"

"Right!"

He couldn't help but realize it, but she did look cute when she smiled. Instantly, she charged toward the symbol that she said spelt out future, and realized that she was glowing. Kiryll stepped toward her, and then she turned her head and smiled.

"Come on!" She giggled. "It's a portal!"

Kiryll blinked before following suit. Once he did, he found himself in another room. Again, Norma found a symbol and touched it, forming more Relares. She jumped into another glyph without thinking, convincing Kiryll that he might as well follow her. Once he did, he found himself wrapped in a warm glow.

"What…?"

"I can't believe it."

He looked up to her and realized that she was staring at something in front of her. He walked to her side and looked up, realizing that the crystal in front of him looked oddly like Norma's other self. He turned his head nad realized that she was near crying.

"This is it! This is the Everlight!" She was shivering. "It's real!"

"Wow…it really is majestic. And there's so much mana here!" Kiryll felt a pulse from his Cruxis Crystal, but ignored it. "So this is what your master was looking for."

"Yeah! This is it!" She squirmed almost as if she wanted to hug it. "Master, I found it!"

"He would be proud…" He turned his head to the wall. "Hey, someone wrote here."

Norma turned her head and saw that there was indeed writing on the wall. Confused, she headed over there to investigate. After a few minutes, she started to shake her head and shiver as if it said something weird.

"This…this is…" She laughed. "This is Master's handwriting."

"Is it? Then it looks like he wrote here too." Kiryll knelt down. "Damn, it's Relares. I can't read it."

Norma slowly walked toward where Kiryll was and looked at the writing that was on the ground. He watched as her eyes skimmed all the letters on the ground before she started to cry, this time tears of joy.

"I've…I've studied really hard, Master! I can read your feelings…" She smiled.

"What does it say…if I can ask?" Kiryll looked up.

"…_**To my dearest student…"**_ She sobbed. _**"I promise that one day…we'll meet again in this place…I'll shall wait for you forever until I meet you in this place."**_

Kiryll smiled before he extended one of his hands to her. Instantly, she collapsed into his arms _(much to his shock)_. After wiping it out of his system, he held her and started to laugh, being joined by the ecstatic young mage in his arms. He couldn't help but admit it: she felt really warm and he didn't want to lose that feeling. Suddenly, he felt his Cruxis Crystal pulse in sync with the Everlight, and the land around them suddenly turned a strange sepia. He turned his head and saw that there was a young man writing on the wall.

_Am I seeing the past?_ He blinked. _That means that this place is nothing more than fonons…the Seventh Fonon…_

"_**Argh…no no no! I'm seriously going to vomit if I keep writing this stuff!"**_ He panicked, flailing around _(exactly like Norma too…who knew?)_. _**"I have to be myself!"**_

He walked toward the Everlight and touched it, sighing to calm himself.

"_**Norma…I only found the Everlight because you believed in me. I never told you this…but you were always a constant source of encouragement for me. When everyone else was laughing and telling me that I was crazy, you alone listened to me. Whether the two of us were together, we'd laugh and goof off so much that I'd completely forget about my troubles. The time I spent with you is truly priceless to me."**_

He rubbed his face, and Kiryll realized that he was blushing.

"_**Of course, my face would turn so many shades of red if I actually said this to your face…I hope that you'll forgive me for doing it like this."**_ He started to write on the ground right in front of Kiryll. _**"I pray that you will find this place in the not-so-distant future. I have faith that you will."**_

"_**Thank you Norma…thank you for everything. You're the best student that I ever had."**_

The sepia around Kiryll started to fade as well as the image of the man that was running around the room. He heard a sobbing sound from next to him, and that's when he realized something: Norma had seen everything as well. She began to cry even more.

"Master…I found it!" She sobbed again.

"He had no regrets…after he found it. He must've died soon after." Kiryll chuckled. "Hey, you know what? We still have one more thing that we have to do."

"Huh? What's that?" She looked up.

"Zamaran, you dummy." He lightly flicked her forehead. "We have to show him this."

"" "" ""

Norma and Kiryll were more than ecstatic to show this to the blind man. Once they returned to town, they hunted him down for what seemed to be about an hour. Once they did that, it took them a good hour or two to drag him toward the Everlight. He didn't seem happy about it.

"OK, are you going to be telling me just what's going on?" He asked.

"Well, if it were up to me, then I never would've shown this to you, but…" Norma turned to the Everlight. "Grant my wish, Everlight."

Kiryll looked up and saw that she was praying to it. Suddenly, the Everlight began to glow and hover over Zamaran's face. It began to leak fonons that were hitting all three of them. He turned to the old man and saw that he was opening his eyes and staring at the Everlight as if it was the most beautiful thing in the world. He turned his head to the wall with the writing, and then Norma jumped in front of it.

"Not bad, hm?" She grinned. "I told you so!"

"This…is the Everlight…" He then turned his attention to Kiryll. "And you must be…Nightroad, I presume."

"Yes, that's me." He answered.

"Hey, old man! Take a look at this!"

Kiryll turned his head as he watched the two of them started to banter with each other in front of Sven's writing. Sighing, he walked up to the Everlight and placed a hand on it, admiring its shape.

_This is really beautiful…so apparently it grants wishes, doesn't it?_ He rubbed the surface and was a little confused. _It feels like…one big Cruxis Crystal, now that I think about it._

Suddenly, he heard the Everlight crack underneath his hand. It caught everyone's attention as it started to glow excessively in reaction to _(who knew)_ Kiryll's Cruxis Crystal. Confused, he unbuttoned his shirt and saw that it was pulsing at the same rate as it was. He turned his head back up to the Everlight and watched as it started to drop shards of itself onto the ground. The shards floated into the air and floated toward Kiryll, who was starting to feel a strange bit of pain. Suddenly, his Cruxis Crystal popped out of his Key Crest and fused with the Everlight shards, turning into a larger Crystal before fusing back into a newly shaped Key Crest.

"It…fused." He tapped it. "Whoa."

"The Everlight crumbled…it must be because its power has been drained." Zamaran looked up.

"Oh well. The goal was to find it." Norma went to two shards on the ground and picked it up. "Maybe it's telling me to find a new dream."

"Well, you have a guild to work under." Kiryll chuckled. "We should head back there, now that I think about it."

"Yeah…we should."

"" "" ""

**YEAH…long chapter.**


	72. Experimental Heron :TOWER:

**Yay…it's finally over. Back to other Social Links!**

"" "" ""

He couldn't help but notice it, but he was so happy that he was back in Ad Libitum. As he wandered back into the lobby, he couldn't help but smile at Norma as she stared at the two fragments of the Everlight in her hands. By the looks of things, she was muttering something to them _(like talking to them…something that strangely made him shiver)._ After a few long minutes, she darted her head back to him.

"All right, I've got it!"

"Um…got what?" He tilted his head.

"Well, after I found the Everlight, I began wondering on what I should do from now on…since, well, I don't really have a dream to achieve anymore." She smiled. "While we were coming here, I began to wonder just what I was going to be doing, and…after thinking about it, I decided that…well…"

_I wonder what type of jewel she's setting her sights on this time._ Kiryll smiled, just imagining Norma digging around the world for anything near Everlight fame. _Everyone does call her a treasure hunter…_

"I want to help you regain your memories."

THAT took him by surprise. In fact, so much so that he felt all the nerves and muscles in his body tense up in shock. It was then that Norma started laughing at the look on his face, and then he realized that his face had gone completely red as well.

"R-really?" He blinked. "I'm…doing w-well…on my own."

"Sure, when you're not too busy running for your life from potentially evil organizations. Yeah, you're doing well." Norma smiled and leaned back. "Look, you can't be doing all of this on your own. So…until I find something else, I'll be helping you!"

"Um…thank you, Norma." He shook out his shock. "Really."

"Of course. What are friends for?" She looked down at her palm and smiled. "Here. For you."

"Hm? Hey, this is…"

"Yeah. A piece of the Everlight." She chuckled. "I think it'd be cool for you to hold a piece of it too…excluding your Cruxis Crystal and all."

"Thank you…" He held up the piece. "I'll hold onto this."

Norma nodded before she walked away toward the mission room. He felt his pulse slow down, which made him wonder what it was so worked up about. After a few seconds, his gaze turned back toward the Everlight in his hand and he couldn't help but smile at it.

"Well, you had a hell of a time with her."

Kiryll screamed in shock _(literally screamed)_, almost dropping the fragment. He stumbled with that for a minute before finally catching himself. He looked up and saw that Harold was standing right behind him, looking down the pathway that Norma was walking down.

"I have to admit, she's quite a catch." She grinned. "Though I think that she's not your type."

"I-It's not like that!" Kiryll stood up. "We just…had a rough time together, that's all!"

"Then why are you blushing like that?"

"Y-you startled me, that's why!"

"Oh, is it like that? Oh dear…sorry about that!" She pulled out a dish filled with food. "Here, something for you! Astrid cooked it, so you don't have to worry about poisoning!"

Kiryll looked a little hesitant before taking the plate in front of him. It looked normal enough…and tasted normal enough as well. After he was done, he returned the plate and sat down on the lobby chair as Harold started staring right into his eyes. It was a bit unnerving.

"What?" He finally asked.

"Just…observing."

"Observing wha-?"

A sudden pulse ran through his system and he fell to the ground. His bones felt like they were melting off, and he couldn't breathe. Before he blacked out, he looked up and noticed that Harold was rubbing her chin as if she was observing him.

_What did she…do to me?_

"" "" ""

When he opened his eyes, he felt something strange. First off, he felt a lot smaller than usual. He turned to his hands and saw that his clothes seemed to be perfectly normal. He moved his fingers and toes and concluded that he had ordinary muscle movement.

_Wait a minute…something's wrong here._

He darted up into a sitting position and saw that his legs were a lot shorter than usual. In fact, his whole body seems to be smaller. He turned to a window next to him and realized that a) he was in his room…and b) since when did he suddenly have the body of a five-year-old.

_**FIVE YEARS OLD?**_

He jumped out of his bed and stared at the form in the mirror. He looked so much younger than usual and his eyes were HUGE. Was that even _possible?_ He rubbed his cheeks and felt how soft they were, and immediately feared for Arche. Sure, Tear had a weakness for cute things as well, but at least she doesn't want to suddenly rip apart the entire body of a cute object, does she?

"Hm…so it didn't have the effect that I wanted…"

"GAH!" He darted his head around and saw Harold standing behind him. Maybe his age hindered his senses too? "YOU! What the hell did you do to me?"

"Well, I'm not going to lie to you." She grinned. "I used you. In the name of science!"

"Yeah, I can figure out that much…" He grabbed his mini shirt. "But what the hell happened to me?"

"Well, it seems that it reformatted your fonons to completely change the intake and outtake of fonons in your body…yet it went to the point where it completely reversed your aging process. Amazing…"

"Harold, what was it supposed to do to me?"

"Paralyze your breathing for about a few seconds…I was creating something that I could use in battle, but I had no way to experiment it, so…"

"Why the hell did you use me?"

"Because you were there."

Kiryll started to yell like a five year old and began pounding on Harold's leg. However, none of the blows were affecting her, and she was only getting sheer enjoyment out of torturing the poor boy. It was only then that Kiryll realized that his voice turned into that of a child, making him even more adorable.

_Oh s-_

"Come now…are you really complaining about it?" She giggled. "You sound cute in that form!"

"Great…being cute is all I have to be right now, after-" He suddenly remembered something. "Hey Harold…can I ask you something?"

"Hm?" She tilted her head. "I'm sorry, I don't have an antidote."

_Crap._ "No, um…back when I was with Norma, we fought another version of her." He stated. "She was surrounded with a black aura and was spouting on how she was her and stuff…and I don't know what it means."

"Ah, I see…you must've ran into her Shadow, no less."

"Her Shadow?" Kiryll looked confused.

"If what I believe is true, it's Guede's Cruxis ability. The formal name for it is **Shadow**, which allows any hidden emotions and/or thoughts to take in a vast amount of First Fonons and achieve a physical form."

"He can do that…?"

"He has access to people's minds like that?"

"He is the Persona of Pure Emotions, you know. He could bring out anyone's if he wanted too. But in his case, he can't do that because he had been severed of his massive power source that is the Descender." She looked at you. "In other words, it accessed your mana to take form."

"How?"

"Social Links, dummy. The closer they get to you, the further they have to dig in themselves."

_The closer they get to trusting me…_

Suddenly, they heard a knocking sound. The door swung open, revealing a confused Yuri staring at Harold. After a while, he found himself staring at the five year old standing next to her. Before Kiryll had a chance to say anything, Yuri swooped him up in the air as if he was his child.

"So instead of cutting him open like a Christmas present, you settle for shrinking the guy?" He asked, his voice unwavered.

"Well, someone has to know how he operates." Harold answered.

"Hey, not to sound a bit bitchy here, but is it possible for you to change him back?" Yuri looked at her. "I'm going on a mission and I really need his help."

"The effect is temporary, Yuri. At least…in the concentrations that I gave him." She stated. "Give him some time."

"If this time ends up being days, I will avoid you for the rest of my life."

"You can never avoid me, Kiryll Nightroad…"

Kiryll couldn't help but shiver as Yuri dragged him out of the room. As he was walking down the hallway, he heard a shatter in his mind and the image of the Tower Arcana tarot card appeared soon after, glowing in a beautiful pink light.

"**I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I. I, THE TOWER THAT HOVERS OVER THE THOUSAND NATIONS, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."**

The card faded from his mind, and he finally found himself getting bigger. Yuri looked down and saw that Kiryll had grown to his normal self. He grinned, much to Kiryll's surprise.

"So…" He began. "You able to operate?"

"Hm…all limbs seem to be working." He held up a tarot card. "I have my magic."

"Good. You can work." Yuri turned away. "Come with me. We got work to do."

"" "" ""

**Chibi Kiryll will now invade your mind.**


	73. The Incident in Meltokio

**Sorry for the long wait…but now we are BACK INTO PLOT RELEVANCE! And what may be the biggest plot twist to date!**

"" "" ""

When Kiryll followed Yuri back into the lobby, he wasn't surprised to see Stahn and Arche talking amongst themselves about the mission they were about to partake. Upon getting closer to them however, he realized that they were arguing over how many gels they should be bringing.

"We're doing a guard mission! We can't carry all of this!" Arche stated.

"This is a guard mission, exactly! We're gonna get jumped sooner or later!" Stahn pointed out. "We might as well stock up now!"

"A guard mission?" Kiryll's eyes looked confused. "Where?"

"Well, Zelos Wilder has been invited to yet another party in Meltokio. Problem is: there're going to be Hunters there." Yuri said. "He has a feeling that they're gonna notice his heron blood, so he wants to make sure that he'll be perfectly fine."

"But…Yuri." Kiryll blinked. "I'm a heron."

"That's why he's bringing up his group as well." Yuri stated. "He says he wants all the protection he can get."

"That's something he would say." Arche giggled.

"Oh god, I just got that." Stahn shivered.

"So…when are we leaving?" Kiryll looked up.

"Tonight." Yuri answered. "Meet up here at 6:30 PM and be ready."

"" "" ""

The meet-up quickly led into an escort into Meltokio. Yuri led the way toward one of the big buildings, bouncers in front of the only door there. Stahn grinned before he walked toward the bouncers. The others sat there as he suddenly rose into an argument with them, and then walked back out to their faces.

"They said that his escorts already came in with him!" He spat. "Leave it to Zelos to leave us out!"

"Maybe he forgot to mention us?" Kiryll blinked.

"Maybe." Arche rubbed her chin. "We'll just have to find a way in, then."

"Well…we could always come in saying that we're escorts…" Yuri rubbed his chin.

"**FEMALE **escorts?" Stahn jumped.

"Oh. That won't be a problem. Arche can go as is." Kiryll lifted up his two fingers. "And I can turn into a female if I have to."

"Sure…**BUT **_**WHAT ABOUT US?"**_ Stahn pointed at himself and Yuri. "We can't pull it off as easy as you can!"

"Actually…" Yuri grinned at Stahn. "Getting in is quite easy."

"You…wouldn't _**dare…**__**"**_

"Kiryll, just turn into a female and get you and Arche into the best clothing that you got." Yuri got Stahn's arm. "Wait for us here."

"" "" ""

After Kiryll turned into Kyra, Arche was able to point out a nearby store that was selling female clothing. They were able to find something within their budgets, and then they were fixing up each other's hair. Kiryll knew that something was up when Arche was just twirling her hair.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I don't know how to style your hair…" Arche looked at it. "It's so soft and silky…we need to make it look exotic!"

"Why exotic?" Kyra tilted her head.

"Because we can do something like that to it!" She swung around a few pieces. "Maybe if we wrap it up or something…"

"What, like a turban?"

"No, not a turban…maybe a headband or something." She blinked. "Something that'll make your silver hair stand out."

"But that's why I have gold eyes." Kyra stated. "It already stands out."

"No, we need to make it stand out even _**more**_. Something like…" Arche grinned. "How about…a Chinese bun?"

"Maybe…" Kyra grinned. "That sounds good."

Nodding, Arche folded up her hair into the small bun. On the other hand, she tied up Arche's hair into a tight braid and slipped on the most comfortable dresses that they can sneak into. They straightened out their dress as they stood out where they were supposed to meet up with Yuri and Stahn.

"They should be here by now…" Kyra looked around. "Where are they?"

"Maybe Yuri's still thinking on what to do?" Arche blinked. "He can't think last-minute here."

"I guess so…" Kyra sighed.

"I'm sorry…is it OK if you two can help us?"

Kyra turned her head to see two women standing next to her. One of them had long, blond hair and was wearing a typical pink noble dress. The one that was talking to her had long purple hair and was wearing a black Chinese dress. Her eyes seemed…

_Wait a minute…_ "Y-Yuri?"

"_**WHAAAT?"**_ Arche jumped. "Y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-"

"Can't seem to fool you, huh?" Yuri stood up, talking in his usual voice. "What do you think?"

"…" Arche blinked. _**"WHAAAAAT?"**_

"Is…is that some kind of magic?" Kyra asked.

"Nah. Just some good make-up and clothing." Yuri answered. "Isn't that right, Stahn?"

"Just…no, just…shut the hell up." He answered, staring at the pink dress. "God, I feel like I should be making cakes and be surrounded by mushrooms!"

"…Mushrooms?"

"I don't know what the hell that woman gave me!" Stahn spat. "It was white, it was powdery-"

"Just _**shh."**_ Yuri sighed. "All right…we should go in."

"You want me to talk to him?" Kyra asked.

"No, no…" Yuri straightened his collar. "Let me."

Kyra was confused before watching Yuri walk toward the bouncers. He gestured for the three of them to follow suit before pulling out a Chinese fan and waving it in front of his face. The bouncers stared at him with confused looks on their faces.

"Name." One of them stated.

"Lily…" Yuri answered in his female voice. Kyra had chills down her spine.

"She's on the list." The other one looked on the list. "You have three others with you?"

"Yes, of course." He nodded. "Are we allowed in?"

"Of course."

Kyra stared at Yuri with a blank look on her face as Yuri brought them into the building. Once they were in, Yuri lowered his fan as Kyra observed the massive amount of nobles in the room. He grinned at the group.

"Mission accomplished." He whacked his hand with the fan. "We're in."

"That was…traumatizing." Arche finally stated.

"No it isn't. After hanging out with a couple women, you catch things." He chuckled. "So, when are we going to find Zelos?"

"When I convince myself that you're a man." Stahn answered. "You've been hanging out with Kiryll too much…"

"Why am I being blamed for this?" Kyra sighed.

Yuri rolled his eyes as he walked into the crowd. Kyra tilted her head and couldn't help but notice something weird: he looked _really_ good in that dress. Traumatized by that thought, she slapped her face twice and hoped it was because she was female at the moment.

"Is it just me…" Arche leaned in. "Or does Yuri look really good in that?"

"_**END OF THE CONVERSATION!"**_ Stahn jumped back. "God, can't I just hang out with people that _don't_ have questionable interests?"

"Better to be somewhat gay than a kleptomaniac…" Arche sighed. "Come on, just wander the crowd."

Before Kyra had a chance to argue with that statement, Stahn and Arche were long gone. She shivered before wandering into the unknown, feeling really iffy around every single person in the room. All of them were nobles and were extremely fancy looking, making her _(in her normal looking outfit)_ all the lamer.

"Well, you're looking lovely today."

She froze in her tracks. Turning around, she found herself face-to-face with none other than Zachriel himself. He had a kind look in his eyes, making her wonder if she knew her real identity. She kept her hands at her sides, hoping that they wouldn't reach out to her hidden necklace.

"Th-thank you…" She answered. "Sir…"

"You're welcome…are you a maid, by any chance?" He asked.

"Um…why?"

"You don't look as stuck-up and useless as everyone else here." He answered, his voice still kind. "Don't these nobles make you a little mad?"

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it: they have all the money in the world, and yet they don't even bother to help their fellow man. People are dying in the streets and yet they're here, rolling around in their riches as if they're the only ones on this planet. Doesn't that annoy you?"

"They're just naïve. People unite the idea of money with security. They just don't want to live in fear."

"Maybe you're the one who's naïve. Don't you think that this world would be better without them?"

"Just give them time. They're only human, capable of only thinking about certain people at a time."

"Yes…I guess so." He smiled. "Thank you. I understand just a little bit more."

She could only nod at Zachriel's statement. Looking at him, she couldn't believe that he had tried to kill her just yesterday. And now here he was, attending a party as if nothing else had happened! She was just glad that he didn't recognize her. Suddenly, she heard someone call him, and Zachriel turned to join him. He nodded at her and walked past her.

"_**Don't think that I'm letting you go just like this…"**_

She froze as he walked casually past her. Panicked, she started up and went to the other side of the hall, afraid that he was going to follow her. After a few minutes, she was finally out on the balcony. Sighing, she started to calm down as she saw that no one was chasing her.

_You're over reacting, Kiryll…Zachriel's not going to tarnish his record by just attacking you with a thousand witnesses._ She shook her head. _He'll want to stay a Descender just a bit longer…just to get everyone off his back…but for what reason?_

She started to panic all over again. Her head darted back into the party, desperate to see if she could see any familiar faces, but only saw ordinary bystanders in the crowd. She shook her head and decided that she might as well try to play it off. If something happens, her friends were still in the area.

"**THERE YOU ARE!"**

She jumped back as a shadow flung itself in the air and landed behind her. After a few seconds, people were screaming and running away from it. It was only then that she realized that it was Guede. He found her…no…he found _**him**__**.**_ And he was alone.

"So this is where you were hiding around this whole time…" He chuckled. "And look at you! Since when did you like women's clothing?"

"Are you just here to throw insults at me?" Kyra responded, her hand squeezing the cross underneath her dress.

"Geez, how far did you _**fall**_ in the women category?" Guede shook his head. "Oh well…girls are so much easier to rip apart!"

He lunged toward her, forcing her to pull out her scythe and counter his attack. Once she was in the air, she quickly pulled out Ardha, turning into Kiryll the minute he landed on the ground. His dress quickly turned back into his usual attire _(much to his surprise)_.

"There we go…that's better." Guede lifted up his arm. "I don't think personal revenge would be achieved if you were under that hideous disguise."

"It wasn't a disguise, Guede. I thought you knew what it was." Kiryll answered.

"Hm? Hah, looks like your memory is coming back!"

Kiryll was taken aback by that statement. His memory was indeed coming back…the pace faster than ever. Before he could wonder why, Guede was closing fast, attacking him with a pace that he wasn't expecting. Suddenly, a clap echoed the air, and they both paused to see Zachriel walk through the scared crowd.

"Do you two really have to fight each other with so many people around you?" He sighed, a smile on his face. "If you two are going to thrash about, do it somewhere private, OK?"

Zachriel threw a sneer at Kiryll, startling him before he lifted his arms up in the air. Suddenly, Kiryll and Guede started to levitate in the air before being thrown up into the night sky. Grunts and shoves were heard from the shocked audience, and Zachriel watched as Yuri and Arche squirmed into the front. Yuri was the first to notice the Descender.

"_**You…"**_ He growled. "What are you doing here?"

"Those two were going to fight with all these people here…" He looked as the two boys in the sky were surrounded by a bubble. "We couldn't really afford the destruction of so much property, can we?"

"You sealed Kiryll up with Guede!" Arche screamed. "You're gonna kill him!"

That statement was enough for Zelos and Stahn to squeeze through the crowd. Yuri ran to the edge of the platform and stared at the huge bubble that was holding his best friend. Before he had a chance to say anything, he saw Zelos and Arche fly past his shoulders toward the bubble, attacking it as much as possible to get him out. Stahn and Rita ran to his side as Leon flew over their heads.

"Aim for the top!" Stahn screamed. "It'll break there, I just know it!"

"Back up! I'm breaking that!" Rita stepped back. _**"Fireball!"**_

"Zachriel!" Astrid panicked. "Get him out of there! Kiryll is going to die if you leave him in there!"

"If I let him out, it'll only cause the deaths of all these people here." Zachriel stated.

"Well then, let us in there with him!" She begged. "He can't handle Guede alone!"

"The barrier stays up. It won't let anyone in or out."

"That's it…I've tolerated you this entire time, but now _**you're starting to piss me off!"**_ Yuri suddenly stomped toward the Descender and grabbed his collar. "You probably can't get this in your head, but my best friend is in there, and he is about to die in there! Can't you just let any of us in there?"

"If you knew how dangerous Kiryll really is, you wouldn't be asking me to help him."

Yuri was about to say something when he heard Arche scream. He turned his head and saw that the bubble was glowing a bright white light, and exploded. Leon and Zelos were tossed away as the bubble disintergrated into nothing. However, Kiryll and Guede were nowhere to be seen.

"" "**TWO WEEKS LATER" ""**

Norma was standing on the deck of the ship, her brain stressing out of what Yuri said had happened back in Meltokio. Kiryll and Guede had vanished off the face of the planet, and now they're wondering where he might've went. Everyone had already been searching out for him, but there was no luck.

_Dammit, Kiryll…where are you?_

Suddenly, she felt a chill go down her back. She looked over the edge of the ship and saw a familiar figure floating in the sea. She started screaming bloody murder before turning toward the announcement horn next to the elevator.

"**Get someone up here now! Kiryll is in the sea! I repeat, **_**I FOUND KIRYLL NIGHTROAD!**__**"**_

It didn't take more than three seconds to see Kyle and Luke dash out of the elevator. Luke immediately threw himself off the deck as Norma and Kyle observed from the side. They watched as he picked him up and flew back in one fell swoop, finally lying him down on the deck.

"Otouto-san!" Kyle leaned to his side.

"Kiryll! Can you hear me?" Norma shook him. "Kiryll?"

"I'll go get Jade." Luke dashed to the elevator.

Norma and Kyle stayed by his side as they tried desperately to dry him. After a few seconds, he stirred, startling the both of them. Norma's eyes lit up as familiar yellow orbs glowed in her direction. His lips moved, and it muttered three small words.

"…_who are you?"_

"" "" ""

***Braces herself for the fangirl rants***


	74. What Has Changed In This Man?

**Kiryll Nightroad has memory loss AGAIN? What the heck is going on? What happened to him when he and Guede were fighting? Will they ever find out?**

**Hey, who's happy that I finally updated?**

"" "" ""

They didn't have any doctors on the ship at that time, so they were forced to send Mint in Kiryll's room. Norma and Kyle sat patiently outside the door, waiting for any good news to pour their way. After a good hour or two, the door opened and they rose to their feet.

"So? What's going on?" Kyle asked.

"He doesn't remember anything prior to waking up." She answered, sighing. "Not only that, but…"

"But what?" Norma asked.

"He's…changed. A lot." Mint turned to the door. "Maybe you should see for yourself."

They looked at each other before walking into the room. The window was wide open, letting in the only light that goes into the room. Sitting on the bed was Kiryll, but it was just like Mint said: he changed. He had a different sort of air around him, his golden eyes now narrow and mysterious. Slowly he turned toward them, and a chill ran down their backs.

"They say this is my room." He said, his voice oddly cold and deeper. "I've lived in this for a while."

"You have." Norma answered. "You worked at our guild in order to find your memories."

"What, I had this condition before?"

"Yeah. You couldn't remember anything past your own name." Kyle added. "…you do know your name, right?"

"Why? Do you?" He turned toward them and folded his legs. "Care to enlighten me? The blond outside was in such a rush she forgot to mention it."

Norma and Kyle stared at each other. He didn't seem as oblivious as before, but he was…darker than usual. The gold in his eyes felt more like daggers into their soul. What happened to Kiryll in the time that he was missing? Norma took a deep breath.

"Your name is Kiryll Nightroad." She answered. "You're eighteen years old and you work on this ship Ad Libitum as a guild member."

"I work here?" He looked around. "Is this place falling apart or something? I keep noticing cobwebs around this area."

_He changed a lot…_ Kyle walked in front of her. "We're just making repairs, Kiryll. You insisted that this room was fine and it didn't need work."

"Hm…all right. If that's what it meant."

Norma leaned back, observing the sudden change. Was it possible for someone to completely change who they are in just a few minutes of memory loss? He suddenly tensed up, alerting everyone in the room, before relaxing. She turned around and saw that Kanonno was at the door.

"Um…Kiryll?" She gasped. "I-I heard about what happened, and-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know…I'm an amnesia victim. Too bad for me." He stood up. "So…what are you really here for?"

"Oh, right! That! Stahn and the others are back from their mission." She told Norma and Kyle. "Kratos is telling them about everything right now, so they would be informed…"

"OK…" Norma turned to him. "You should go meet with them. They're your closest friends."

"…All right."

"" "" ""

As Norma and Kyle led Kiryll to the lobby, they saw the back of Kratos as he told his three closest friends exactly what was going on. Norma noticed that Yuri was taking it with a strange cringe in his eyes. Meanwhile, Stahn and Arche's eyes were widening as big as their jaws, and were now screaming total nonsense in the guy's face.

"That can't be possible! How? Ho-how?" Stahn gasped.

"How can Kiryll have memory loss again?" Arche spat to him. "Does he remember anything? Anything at all?"

"We haven't figured out the depth of his amnesia…but for now we can safely assume that he has lost everything."

"_**EVERYTHING?"**_

That remark made Kiryll jump in surprise. His quiet yelp caught everyone's attention, and they all turned around to see that Kiryll was staring at them with a blank look on his face. The two of them wanted nothing more than to dash in front of him and ask if he was alright, but they were stopped with one arm waved in the air. It was Yuri, still keeping his cool.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked.

"…no." He answered bluntly. "Am I supposed to?"

"Huh…I would assume not, if you have memory life." Yuri turned to Kratos. "Since when did he have a mood change?"

"We're not sure. We think it's an effect from the fight with Guede." He answered. "But by the looks of things, we won't be able to figure out what happened."

"Well, that sucks. But we can't change that for now." Yuri turned back to Kiryll. "My name's Yuri Lowell."

"Pleasure to meet you again, Lowell." Kiryll shook his hand. "Who're the other two?"

Yuri turned his head toward the others, who was still suffering from some thick shock from what happened. After a few minutes, Arche finally snapped out of the funk and flew over to his level, actually getting off her broom to do so. She lifted up her hand.

"Arche Klein. Sometimes I call myself Arche Curtiss because of my adoptive father, but…I'm still Klein."

"Klein." He shook her hand. "And the blond?"

"…it's Stahn Aileron."

"Aileron." He shook his hand, noticing the weird look he got from him. "What?"

"Well…I just wasn't expecting you to call us by our last names." He said. "You used to call us by our first names."

"Well, I feel more comfortable with last names." Kiryll shrugged. "Got a problem with that?"

"No."

Stahn looked at Norma and Kyle, who had the same look on their faces. Whatever was affecting Kiryll was also changing his personality. Quite frankly, no one liked it one bit. But they had to be there for Kiryll while they wait for his memories to return to him. It's odd how that mental conversation can go on in five seconds.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"

Everyone jumped as they heard the elevator work. They turned their heads to see a white robed man waiting peacefully in the elevator, familiar yellow-and-red eyes fixating themselves onto Kiryll. Yet for some reason, he didn't feel nervous or odd. Everyone else did.

"Zachriel!" Arche spat. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I heard that Kiryll had been found, so I wanted to check up on him." He said. "I hope that I'm not interrupting something."

"**DAMN STRAIGHT** you're interrupting something!" Stahn spat. "Because of your actions, he has memory loss again!"

"Memory loss? Oh dear…" Zachriel rubbed his head. "The day I find out the truth, too…"

"The truth?" Kratos blinked.

"What kind of nonsense are you spitting out this time?" Norma spat.

"Today, me and my researchers found out that Kiryll wasn't the person that I was looking for." Zachriel looked at them. "It's Aeternitas."

"Wait…your other Persona?" Yuri rubbed the back of his head. "What does he have to do with this?"

"I will tell you…if you all will be willing to forgive me for the tragedy that fell upon your friend."

Everyone looked at each other. No one wanted to do that _(since Zachriel had been classifying himself as a bit of a bitch half the time)_ but they had to know what the Descender was going to tell them. After a few minutes, Yuri gave him the nod. He nodded back a thank you.

"According to the wise sage of Daath, something has happened in the other realm that caused me to lose my powers and fall to this planet. That incident, which I have learned, was a power struggle between Aeternitas and Guede. I don't know what happened after that, but all I knew was that Guede escaped into this world and Aeternitas, trying to save his own skin, sent a vessel instead of himself."

"A…vessel?" Kyle blinked.

"Someone that could house just a little bit of his powers into his body and can pull off being a suppressed version of himself…that way he can distract Guede until he is weakened, after which he can make his move. I know Aeternitas well, and this is what he would do."

"Seriously?" Arche asked, trying to not sound sarcastic. "Why doesn't he just attack Guede himself? Doesn't he know the life he's wasting?"

"He's only the Persona of Reason. He would not care."

Everyone looked at each other, surprised that he actually made some form of sense. Or were they suckered? They all turned to Kiryll, who was actually looking like he was buying it. And that was not going to be a good thing. Norma turned to Zachriel, who nodded with a smile.

"I wanted to tell you that Aeternitas is out there and that he might come after you now that his vessel has done his job." He turned around. "Please inform me when you meet him."

And with a smile and light nod, Zachriel was gone.

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Chat shook her head as she was waiting for anything new to come up in the bulletin posts. After a few seconds, she heard a strange beep, but it wasn't from the machine. She turned her head to the door and saw a strange figure walk into the room. He had long, flowing white hair and shining golden eyes, and adorned with white robes that made him look…majestic. What caught her attention was that he had a Key Crest in his neck yet no Crystal, and that he had white wings erupting from his back. They met eyes.

"H-hi." She asked, intimidated.

"A-am I scaring you? I'm sorry." He answered, startled. He looked twice as scared as she did.

"N-no, it's OK. I haven't seen you before, and I know a lot of other people, so…" She shook her head. "Anyway, how can I help you?"

"Actually, I want to know if I can join this guild."

"_**REALLY?"**_ She held back. This strange new man, a member of her guild? That's perfect! "Yes, of course you can join! I just need your name."

"…" He sighed. "Aeternitas. But you can just call me Aeter."

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**Short, but…who's happy that I updated? I know I am :D**


	75. Aeternitas

**You thought that I abandoned this story, didn't you? Nah, I just moved my focus into a different fandom. BUT I DID NOT ABANDON THIS! It'll…just take a lot longer than usual to update.**

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"Do you think he was telling the truth of Aeternitas?"

"Five bucks says he's pulling our leg."

"Well, let's make the judgment once we see the guy, right Kiryll?"

"I just want to know what the hell is scaring that Zachriel Descender so much."

The three of them stared at each other for a few minutes as Kiryll continued to march down the pathway. They had an inkling that the memory loss definitely had an effect on him, but they don't have a clue on whether or not this was going to be permanent. Nonetheless, when they walked into the arena at that moment they saw a heron battling Leon in a pretty heated duel.

"Whoaaaaa…" Arche ran up to the edge of the arena. "Look at that heron!"

"Is it safe for him to have his wings out like that?" Stahn rubbed the back of his head. "I mean…they're just so _**huge!"**_

"OK, something's definitely up." Yuri nodded. "Look at the Key Crest."

"Eh? _**Eh?"**_ Arche leaned forward. "There's no Cruxis Crystal!"

"Wait, that's impossible!" Stahn jumped. "Herons can't live without them!"

Meanwhile, Kiryll found himself having a massive headache. Nonetheless, it all stopped when the duel ended with a tie, and the people that were watching at the time were congratulating the both of them of a job well done. The strange heron quickly found eye contact with them, and for some reason they didn't feel intimidated by his gaze. But it made Kiryll cringe.

"Wooow…he looks so pretty all in white!" Arche grinned.

"That isn't marred whatsoever…" Stahn spat in jealousy. "That's not fair, man! How is there no stain on the white or even a blood mark?"

Kiryll found himself drawn toward this man, especially since he was able to slip through the crowds of people and approach the four of them without any troubles. Despite all the stuff that should make him intimidating, he had the aura of a sweet man. Rare, really.

"Are you members of this guild?" He asked in a soft voice.

"Yes we are." Yuri folded his arms, clearly suspicious. "You're new here, aren't you?"

"I just joined, actually." The man sounded like he was choosing his words carefully around them.

"Wow…that's so interesting!" Arche chirped. "And you're a heron, too!"

"Yeah…well, that's half the reason why I joined." He stared at his wings, holding the tip of it. "I can't hide my wings, like most of them, so for the most part I'm a huge target for Hunters."

"So is that why you're lacking a Cruxis Crystal?" Kiryll spat.

"Ah…you noticed. Well, the truth is…I can't remember losing my Cruxis Crystal to a Hunter at all. One day, I woke up and found out that I had none." The man stated. "But for some reason, I can live perfectly fine without it. The only problem I have is that my wings can't hide and I'm prone to blinding headaches from time to time…"

"Huh…can't help you there, man." Stahn sighed. "Sorry."

"It's fine. I'm not really asking for help. I'm trying to find out things on my own." The man answered.

"What?" Arche tilted her head. "Wait, don't tell me you have memory loss!"

"Just from the day I lost my Crystal. I haven't forgotten everything." He answered, almost friendly in manner. "Sometimes, I wonder if I should remember."

"Well, sooner or later, you're going to need that Cruxis Crystal to keep you from crystallizing." Yuri pointed out. "So what brings you here?"

"Oh yes, I…" He rubbed the back of his head. "I heard that there was a place…a guild, of some sorts…that has all immunity from Hunters and anything pertaining the Orders and Churches and stuff, so I came here for shelter."

"Hiding is a good thing if you have no idea where to look…" Stahn nodded. "Well, welcome to Ad Libitum. My name's Stahn, the girl there's Arche, that guy looking all cool-like is Yuri the fashion model-"

"_**WHAT?"**_

"-and that guy over there's Kiryll. Don't mind him, he's been having some troubles like yourself."

"I can handle myself perfectly fine." He spat back, shaking the man's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you as well." He said, not noting on the harshness of his voice. "You may call me Aeter."

Kiryll froze.

"Aeter…nice name!" Arche chirped. "Short, simple…and yet _**very mysterious…"**_

"Don't mind her." Yuri held her back. "She's…prone to that."

"No, I don't mind. I had a friend exactly like that once." He sighed. "She was a little older than her, but…they're just about the same."

"Was she a human?" Stahn asked.

"Um…I don't want to bring it up."

Kiryll saw Aeter as he looked down and rubbed the back of his head, muttering something in a tongue that none of them could understand. It was then that another duel came onto the coliseum, and the others ran to take a watch of whoever was battling. Aeter turned around and saw that Kiryll was staring at him.

"I'm onto you, Aeter…or are you Aeternitas?"

"…so you know who I really am." Aeter smiled, nodding. "I'm not hiding anything from you, am I?"

"What the hell are you doing here, anyway? Are you spying for the Star Order?"

"No, of course not. You've been talking to Zachriel, haven't you?" Aeter asked, not surprised. "He's placed a cloud of doubt over your mind, making you doubt me."

"So you're not here just to hide from Hunters." Kiryll folded his arms. "What are you here for?"

"I wanted a change of scenery." Aeter answered. "That's all the answers that I'm willing to offer you now."

"One more question that I'm forcing on you." Kiryll stepped forward. "Who are you after?"

"…no one. I'm here because I can be." Aeter smiled. "And if you want, you don't have to believe me."

And Kiryll watched as Aeter turned his head around and headed back to the coliseum to watch the duel. Nonetheless, suspicion still hovered over him. _He was obviously bad news._

**/=+=/**

**Well, I was just watching Radiant Mythology 3 on YouTube, and I was like "this is so cool!"…and then Emil and Marta came into the game.**

…

**And now a moment of silence because the mistakes that RM1 did prevented RM2, RM3, and all other RM games from coming to America…curse them.**


	76. The Biggest Mystery Yet

**So here's the next chapter of the Tales of Series~! UPDATES AND JUMPING AROUND ANIME GENRES ARE FUN!**

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The next few missions that they did with him allowed them to see just how much Kiryll had changed. While he used to calmly scan the area and do a lot of backflips to save his time while obliviously stating that he wouldn't have a clue what was going on _(yeah, total lie there)_, he would now attack aggressively and with a lot of screaming and roaring. His Personas would come every single five seconds, and it was really starting to annoy the others. Kyle couldn't help but be worried during one mission when they had to exterminate a bunch of monsters in Zaphias.

"Hey, Kiryll!" He headed forward. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Of course I'm all right." Kiryll turned back to him. "What makes you think I'm not?"

"Well…me and Stahn were talking about it for a while and…he mentioned how Persona summoning was a big pain on the body in general, so…" He turned to him. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine. I'm the exception here." He stated. "Remember? I have the Cruxis Crystal that makes me completely immune to this."

"Kiryll…"

"You used to trust me. What happened?"

Two things shocked him at that moment. One: he would never say something like that to anyone, not even to a child. Two: he remembered being with Kyle. His memory was coming back to him. That alone made Kyle let him go and allow him to continue. Sure, he almost destroyed the castle…wait, what?

In fact, his memory was the only thing that was keeping the old Kiryll alive. Nothing else was the same. He looked like he was suspecting everyone, never hesitated to jump into a battle, and apparently didn't like being with anyone unless he had a good memory of them. He never hung out with Norma despite remembering her, and that caused a bit of concern to everyone.

"Don't worry about it. Douchebag syndrome is probably common with amnesia victims." Harold laughed.

"That's true, I guess." Norma sighed. "But I have a friend who had amnesia once…and she was nice. Nothing compared to this."

"She was a woman. That's why."

Norma couldn't help but laugh at that statement, allowing Harold to laugh with her. That was true, she had other friends that were just as worried. He never talked to them like they used to, even Yuri _(and they were best friends)_. She nodded and stood up.

"Thanks. I think I have enough in my head to know I need it cleaned up." She laughed. "I should go on a mission."

"You want me to come with?"

"I'll probably do a small one, like make or carry something." Norma answered. "I won't do anything too dangerous."

"All right." Harold leaned back. "Be careful."

She nodded as she turned and headed out of the lobby with that mentality in mind. As she passed the sleeping quarters, she heard a thud from inside one of the rooms. She turned and knocked on the door about five seconds later.

"Are you all right in there?" She called.

"_Y-yeah, I'm fine."_ The voice answered from inside. _"Thank you for being worried."_

"Are you sure? Can I come in and make sure?"

"_I guess…"_

She slowly opened the door and saw Aeter on his knees, his hands shaking and trying to hide it by covering himself by his wings. He had been like that ever since Kiryll started taking missions again. He would always find himself drained of energy during random moments of the day, sometimes to the point where he wouldn't be able to use his senses.

"Do you want to join a mission with me?"

"Eh? Oh, sure." Aeter stood up. "I hope that you don't mind me in this condition…"

"We're going to do something small, that's all." She answered. "I chose to create a few swords for a group of mercenaries."

"Just steel, right?"

"Yes, of course. That's all they can afford."

"All right…I've done it before." He smiled. "Just lead the way to the forging room."

Norma nodded as she watched him rise to his feet. He looked so majestic in the way that he stood, and smiled as she quietly walked in front of him. It worried her how slow he walked as she headed further down the stairs. It was like escorting an old fart into his house.

"Norma? Why are you going that way? It's that way."

"Eh? Oh, right. Thanks."

She stared at him for a few minutes before walking forward toward the room, seeing Aeter walking slowly behind her with a patient smile on his face. After a few minutes, Norma walked into the room and flipped open the crafting menu for working.

"Can you get that furnace over there working?"

"Yes, of course."

Norma started fixing up the menu to make enough swords, happy that the mechanical geniuses have made something that crafting newcomers such as…Aeter? That's when she realized that the furnace needed a code in order to boot up in the first place.

"Aeter, do you need any he-"

She turned her head and realized that the furnace was already working, and Aeter was staring at her, waiting for her to input the command. Norma blinked for a few minutes before deciding to start it up anyway. And she wondered why people want them to do simple jobs.

"Are you always working like this?"

"No." She answered. "I just needed a break from all the big jobs I've been taking."

"You've been fighting a lot, haven't you?"

"That's my job. That's all our job, really."

"You don't look like one who'd fight. You look more like one a fighter would go to."

"Eh?"

"To sell something."

"Are you saying that I look like a merchant?"

"Is that so bad? They make the world go round."

"Please. You're talking about our government."

"Well, most of the kings these days aren't that bad." Aeter blinked. "Most of them."

"Yeah, I guess that's true. You've heard of the huge rush of people looking for the Prince of Sylvarant, right?"

"I've only heard some rumors, like the Star Order is desperate to get a hold of him." He answered. "They never said why, though."

"It's best you don't get completely involved right now. Being that you don't have a Cruxis Crystal, trying to find him will just add too much stress on you."

"…if you insist…"

"Speaking of which, how are you still alive?"

"After what?"

"Your Cruxis Crystal. You don't have one. I've seen some of the herons here lose crystals and get close to dying almost five minutes in." Norma glared. "Unless you're not a real heron at all."

"I'm a heron, really."

"But you're not dying of…whatever kills herons. Unless the Vanguard did something to you, there's no way you can be a heron. What's your story?"

"You don't need to know that now."

"Why?"

"Because it's completely uninteresting."

"Yes, it must be interesting!"

"Since when?"

Aeter was about to laugh when he suddenly started screaming in pain. Norma froze as he dropped to his knees, the wings on his back shrinking and the aura in the room tensing as if there was too much mana in the room. Five seconds later, the aura quickly dissipated and ran dry, almost as if it never existed in the first place. She looked back to him.

"Are you all right…?"

"…_yeah. _I must've passed out…" He stood up. "Sorry about that…"

Norma was about to react when she saw that the machine was done. She decided that he was able to drop the subject now…but not soon enough.

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"You didn't have to go all out, Kiryll. The guy practically fell in defeat when you showed up."

"I'm sorry, Stahn. But I can't help myself. I'm leaking with mana, remember?"

The three of them looked at Kiryll as he walked into the ship, staring at Yuri and Arche for a minute before remembering that he was hungry and headed toward the kitchen to grab something to eat. The group then continued to stare at each other in confusion.

"Kiryll's changed a lot since his reappearance." Stahn blinked. "Do you think Guede has something to do with this?"

"I say it's something more like Zachriel's doing." Arche looked at him. "He's the Descender. He can do whatever he wants on people."

"But Guede's the Persona of Emotions, remember?" Stahn pointed out. "Emotions can change a guy."

"His personality is so drastic. He's rasher, headstrong, and even a little crazy." Yuri folded his arms. "Someone's behind this, and I know for sure that it's not just one person."

"Not just one…?" Stahn blinked.

"I saw Kiryll's eyes before he battled Guede." Yuri looked at him. "He remembered everything. He had all his memories."

"But he doesn't remember them now…" Arche pointed out. "Remember the memory loss?"

"Whatever it is, it means that someone wants to make sure that Kiryll doesn't remember anything." Yuri shook his head. "If I had to venture a guess, I would say that it would have to do with his true powers as a heron."

"True powers…" Stahn tilted his head. "As a Wild Card?"

"More than that. That fight with Guede, where this whole thing started, the Descender told me something…the reason why he wouldn't let the barrier go and let us fight him."

"What did he say?"

"He said that if I knew how dangerous Kiryll really was, I would've let him die up there." Yuri folded his arms. "Zachriel's protecting something."

"But…what?"

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**HOORAY FOR OVERDUE, LONG UPDATES! Is anyone even reading this now? If so, then congrats!**


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